Unsteady
by 2carm2carm2
Summary: One night, successful businesswoman, Bella, stumbles upon Edward stitching up his bloodied face in the office. Edward is unfriendly and rude and people at Cullen Consulting Inc don't trust him. Soon, Bella becomes obsessed with figuring out what he is hiding from them all and when she finds out, she gets drawn into a world of danger, in which one wrong move will lead to death.
1. Prologue

It was so early in the morning that the sun had yet to begin its ascent. There was a chill in the air but a decided stillness that was the only way one could distinguish this time of morning from night. The expansive water had not been disrupted by wind and was still. It was an ungodly hour to most, but there was also calmness that made the time of day not only bearable, but intriguing.

One shiny black car was parked, looking out towards the lake. The man inside was nursing black coffee, sipping it calmly with no sign of emotion in his eyes as he waited. He didn't bother to fiddle with the music stations or mess around on his phone, he simply waited.

He did not wait long.

A black four door vehicle with tinted shades appeared out of the darkness, crawling towards him threateningly. The man in the former vehicle calmly finished his sip of coffee before setting it in the console and moving to exit the car gracefully.

He buttoned his immaculate suit and leaned against his car cockily as he waited for his conversational partner to exit his own vehicle. He nodded at the driver of the SUV who he could barely make out through the tinted windows; the driver gave such a small nod in return that it was barely noticeable.

The driver got out of his seat and went to the back seat to hold the door open for the other occupant. An older man exited the vehicle just as smoothly as the younger man had just moment prior. He too was dressed in a sharp suit, his graying hair smoothed back with not a single strand out of place. It seemed impossible, but his face did not show any bags that one would expect to see with the current hour being upon them.

"Come, we haven't much time."

Wordlessly, the younger one followed his superior, easily matching his stride with his long legs.

"The Marino's have slipped up again," the younger one reported as the older one lit a cigar and began to smoke it, a thick smell coating the air around them. "Even the police noticed."

"And this slip?"

"Two of the younger family members have been running rampant lately. There's been six deaths - two of which are open homicide investigations- that their names have been linked to, just in the last month alone. They've been sloppy," he said, shaking his head in disgust.

"And the firm of yours knows?" the older asked.

He nodded.

"They're particularly interested in the ones that appeared accidental. It's their hope that the police will be able to handle the homicides without their intervention."

The two both rolled their eyes.

"What else of the Marino's?"

"They have recently purchased a gun manufacturer in the Congo area; the manufacturer is small and deals primarily with different types of grenades."

The elder man nodded and thought for a moment.

"Your people are good; that has not showed up in our own surveillance."

The younger man thought it in his best interest to not comment one way or another and simply nodded.

"And what of their knowledge of us?"

The younger man appeared noticeably agitated at the question.

"That information is kept incredibly regulated," he growled, "The most that I've deduced is that they have a general awareness, or at least suspicion, of the drug shipments but they've gotten stuck in tracing the global supply chain. I also think they lack specifics on the quantities."

He watched his boss smoke his cigar and stare out at Lake Michigan which was cloaked in darkness. It would be another couple hours before the sun would begin to rise and illuminate the area. He refrained from shivering, even though the darkness was chilling.

"And what of our…finer operations?" he asked delicately.

"They have no knowledge of the…living shipments, sir," he answered confidently.

"They damn well better not," he growled, "I've spent the past four years working my fucking ass off to keep that untraceable." He took another puff of his cigar as if to calm himself from his sudden irritation.

The younger man said nothing and gazed passively around the docks without craning his neck too much.

"You've been of use, as usual, my boy," he finally said, clapping his free hand down on his shoulder firmly.

"Thank you, sir," he said with a stiff nod.

Suddenly the gray haired man swiftly moved his arm, cigar falling to the ground and pulled a small center fire revolver out of his suit jacket and dug the end to the younger man's chest, pressing against his heart.

"As always, remember that if you ever so much as consider double crossing me…your life will end as slowly and painfully as humanly possible. Is that clear?"

The younger man nodded calmly, not seemingly concerned about the gun threatening his life.

"Of course, sir."

The older man nodded and moved to tuck the revolver away again.

"Good man," he said, turning and walking back towards where their vehicles were left, driver waiting with the door open.

"I will contact you when I feel it is appropriate," he said, pausing before entering into the backseat. "Until then, I want you to focus your efforts on getting that 'restricted' information and finding out what they know about us."

The younger man nodded in confirmation.

"Contact me if anything urgent arises," he ordered before nodding at his driver, who shut the car door with a slam and slid into his own seat in the vehicle. Within seconds the ostentatious car was peeling out of the area and disappearing once again into the darkness.

If the younger, bronze haired man was alarmed at having been threated with death and torture, he did not show it. Instead, he simply undid a button and slid back into his car. He pulled his own revolver out of the back waistband of his trouser and tossed it on the passenger seat next to him.

He took a sip of coffee and shook his head to himself, tasting the coffee that was slightly colder than earlier, and drove off towards the city.


	2. Chapter 1

Cullen Consulting Inc. LLC stood proudly in the midst of the Chicago skyline, reflecting the views of the sunrise against the immaculate floor to ceiling windows. The city of Chicago was already awake with the sun coming up, bustling around the city, hailing taxis, nursing their coffees and talking on their phones. Some employees were entering Cullen Consulting while others had already been there before the sun rose.

Cullen Consulting was an American management consulting firm with an international presence in 35 countries and more than 50 offices. The firm specialized in advising clients from both private and public sectors and advised nearly 60% of the Fortune 500 companies. The company was consistently named the best consulting firm in the country and also ranked high in Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For."

They were also ranked as one of the most difficult companies to interview for. All candidates went through an extremely competitive vetting process before going through multiple rounds of case and experience based interviews. Employees hailed from all of the Ivy Leagues as well as other top business schools in the country.

Carlisle Cullen was just getting into work himself, having woken up a few hours earlier to his wife making love. He walked with an easy grin and nodded at the receptionist and said hello to a few other employees. He was a handsome man with only a few gray hairs beginning to creep amongst his blonde hair. His wife assured him it made him look very distinguished.

He got in the elevator and waited for it to take him up to the 33rd floor, saying hello to some of his other employees and asking them how their weekend was. Not an employee completed orientation before meeting Carlisle and he made every effort to get to know them and check in on as many as possible. The consulting industry was incredibly demanding and many of the employees got burnt out after a few years and Carlisle made every effort to make his business a place where people wanted to continue to do their best.

Carlisle entered his grand office and was only at his desk for a mere two minutes before a young woman confidently walked in, a newspaper in hand.

"Bella," he grinned with a nod.

"Morning," she said, blinking a lit bit as if to wake herself up. "You look like you've been awake for hours," she commented suspiciously.

"No sleep for the wicked," he winked.

Bella rolled her eyes.

"Whatcha got for me?" he asked, looking at the newspaper in her hands.

"Glassdoor released their list of Top CEOs in America," she informed him, "You didn't make the cut."

Carlisle raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, fine, you came in 3rd with a 98% employee approval rating," she reported.

"Zuckerberg on top again?" he asked.

Bella nodded.

Carlisle shook his head to himself. "Punk," he muttered under his breath.

"Tim Cook's up there too," she said, opening up the business section. Carlisle scowled to himself despite himself; Apple and Facebook were always up there for everything.

"Well if you wouldn't give me such low ratings maybe I'd be a little higher up," he joked.

Bella laughed before reading what the paper had to say.

"Cullen is once again at the top of the list because of not only the record breaking numbers that Cullen Consulting has reported the past year due to aggressive international expansion and diversification of services, but also because of the company culture he creates. Cullen is notorious for knowing the names of many of his employees, promoting young talent, and even hosting regular home dinners for his team and encouraging his employees to do the same. It seems everyone wants to work for Cullen."

Carlisle looked at the young talent he had promoted as she finished and looked up at him with a bit of snark sparkling in her eyes.

"Thank you for dinner the other night, by the way, it was lovely."

"Our pleasure as always," he said with a genuine smile.

There was a group of young executives that Carlisle and his wife repeatedly hosted for dinner and did other activities with. It was a joke around the office that since him and Esme had never had children of their own that they had "adopted" this collection of talented young employees.

"Are you still able to golf tomorrow morning?" he asked, "Mr. Xi is flying in from the Beijing office with his VP, Mr. Zhou."

"I'll be there," she nodded.

"Excellent," he said before turning back to his open laptop. "Go get some work done for a change," he teased.

Bella rolled her eyes before setting the paper down on his desk and turning to leave, her four inch black pumps hitting the hardwood floor and echoing powerfully across the room with every step.

"Oh and boss?" she said, tossing her head over her shoulder to look at him. Carlisle looked up from his typing. "Congrats."

Carlisle grinned, "Thanks kid."

Bella briefly stopped in the bathroom to check her outfit in the mirror. She had a concern that the black pencil skirt she was wearing was making her ass look bigger than appropriate and it seemed to keep riding up because of how tight it was. She awkwardly pulled it down towards her knees before fixing her sleeveless blue blouse and flipping her hair in front of her shoulders, letting it fall in gentle curls.

Once she was as good as she figured she'd get, she left the bathroom and made her way back to her own office.

On the way there she stopped by Emmett's office where Jasper was also hanging out. They were two of the talents that had also been adopted by Carlisle and Esme.

Emmett looked as if he should have pursued a career in the National Football League rather than the business world. He was big and had giant muscle to match. He had dark brown hair, mischievous eyes and dimples that were admittedly precious.

"What's up, Swan?" Emmett asked with a grin as she entered. He was tossing a basketball back and forth between his two hands.

Bella smiled and then looked over at Jasper.

"Jasper, are you still going to be able to assess candidates with me at 1:00 today?" she asked, glancing down at her watch.

The blonde man in question was huddled over Emmett's desk, nursing his coffee and looking decidedly unawake.

"Target's problem with their supply chain is kicking my team's ass," he groaned, taking another gulp of coffee and appearing as if he hadn't slept at all last night. Maybe he hadn't.

Bella held up her hands in defense. "Don't look at me, your team has some of our top recruits," she said.

"For as much of a rep Harvard has, they really haven't been turning out the best and brightest lately," he said grumpily.

A basketball flew at his head.

"Don't come in my office and insult the alma mater, asshole," Emmett said.

"Yale's crop hasn't been much better," Bella pointed out to the blonde. Now it was Jasper's turn to glare for the insult.

"If you go on your spiel about Ivy Leagues being overrated again, I swear to God, Bella," Jasper said with an eye roll.

Bella had graduated from Notre Dame's business school five years ago. She kept her mouth shut about Notre Dame's business school being ranked #1 in the country for the second year in a row and just held her chin up with sass.

"So 1:00?" she prompted.

Jasper grudgingly agreed.

Both Jasper and Emmett were only a couple years older than her, each of them just hitting 30 within the past couple months. Bella had awoken with a raging hangover after each of the celebrations. They were both senior partners and on track in succession planning to take over even higher positions on the C-Suite. Jasper was the managing director of the Chicago office's finances and Emmett directed project managers throughout the office and oversaw all of their progress with specific consultations.

"See you then," she said with a nod, leaving them to do whatever the hell they were doing before she walked in.

Bella made it to her own office and chatted with her secretary, Rosalie Hale. Rosalie was the best in the business and never missed a thing. She was paid better than some of their new employees who worked in consulting and Bella often had to fend off other partners who wanted her for their own.

"No, no," she was saying, "Your ass looks great."

Bella grinned, glancing down. "Thanks."

They only spoke briefly before Bella went to shut herself in her office. All of the offices had glass walls and floor to ceiling windows with incredible views of Chicago and Lake Michigan. It was two years before Bella's breath stopped getting caught in her chest when looking out at the view.

She sat down at her own desk and didn't waste time getting down to work. It was May and that meant last round of interviews for certain candidates as well as organizing the onboarding and orientation of the new students that would be joining them come June. It was an extensive undertaking but Bella adored her job. She paused in her typing for a moment to look at the name plate on her Desk that read _Isabella Swan Executive Director of Human Resources_.

It was absolutely her dream job in the arguably one of the best companies in the world. She had begun her job five years ago after graduation and Carlisle had immediately seen potential in her as she began to specialize in consulting companies regarding issues arising from human resource management. Last year, Carlisle pulled her back from consulting and promoted her to manage their own company's employees.

The only down side to her job was how consuming it was.

Bella was married to her work. Basically, married, settled down and having 2.5 kids with her work.

It consumed her life and as a result she had very little time for anything else. Which was fine by her; she didn't have a boyfriend or friends outside of work that needed tending to. Hell, she even got a cat instead of a dog because they didn't much attention.

A shrilling phone broke her out of her brief musings and she moved to answer the phone on her desk with a click of a button.

"This is-"

"Bella, do you have a minute? I need your opinion on the new website redesign."

The brunette glanced at her watch for a second. "Yeah I'll be there in a minute, Alice."

"This is why I love you."

Bella shook her head to herself and moved to stand up and push away from her desk. She traveled down the hallway about seven offices before arriving at Alice's office which was very similar to hers and Emmett's.

Alice was dressed casually, wearing form fitting black slacks and a white blouse with a light pink colored blazer on top of it. She was standing at her raised desk and was glaring at the computer in front of her, almost staring it into submission.

"This is ridiculous," she muttered to herself angrily.

"What is?" Bella asked, moving over to her desk and looking over her shoulder at the monitor.

Alice was the fourth member of the Cullen's "adopted" work family and was the Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Promotions for the company. She knew the Cullen Consulting brand like the back of her hand and fiercely fought to protect it and enhance it every day that she worked. Alice had also begun her career in consulting but after a year of it, she went to Carlisle and demanded an internal position focused on the brand and he had been so shocked and impressed that he had given her what she wanted.

"Look at these layouts that our designers have created!" she demanded, gesturing angrily at the screen.

Bella looked critically at the first one which was teal and crisp looking with pictures and text blurbs in circles. She then looked at the second one that which was black and white with impossibly small font and was decidedly dreary. The last one of was worst of all and was a terrible salmon color with all of the text and pictures in different geometric shapes, ranging from diamond to circle to triangle.

"The second one isn't terrible?" Bella said, pulling back with a grimace.

"If by 'isn't terrible' you mean, 'horribly morbid' then I agree with you," Alice said bitterly, moving over to click other things with a huff.

"They're bad right?" she asked Bella, "I'm not just being unreasonable and cranky since it's the morning?"

"No they're dreadful."

"Good," Alice said with a sharp nod, taking a gulp out of her coffee.

"You might have to start making stronger stuff for Jasper," Bella commented, nodding at the brown liquid, "He didn't look like he was going to make it."

Alice handed her the cup and motioned for her to try it.

Bella took a sip a coughed a little bit, handing it immediately back to Alice.

"Okay never mind, that's strong as fuck."

Alice smirked for a second. "He was awake all last night. I keep trying to tell him to ease back a little bit, but he refuses. He's going to run himself into the ground before the wedding, but he swears it's just to get ready for the time off for the honeymoon."

Jasper and Alice had began dating three years ago after initially hating each other. Jasper had thought that she was weak, evident by only her year in consulting, he thought she was soft and was burnout. Alice, who knows everything, knew that he felt this way and did not appreciate it. Bella wasn't sure how it happened but one day they started loving each other and Bella was frankly still a little confused.

It was a good thing that they both worked in consulting because so many relationships that Bella saw her coworkers get into were destined to fail. Not many significant others could stand the demand of the job and the constant long hours and traveling that many of them did.

"Yeah it'll be nice to have the time off," Bella muttered.

She figured she better not mention the fact that Jasper was going to be checking in on one of the international offices nearby their honeymoon location during their vacation.

Alice looked over Bella's shoulder to the offices and squinted. Bella turned and followed her gaze down the hall where there were movers carrying card board boxes in and out of an office.

"What's going on there?" Alice wondered.

"Borders is moving to the London office for the next two years," Bella reported as the movers carried Borders' stuff out efficiently.

"Who is getting that office?" Alice asked.

Bella nodded at the tall bronze haired man. He was dressed in a tailored black suit which showed the definition of his muscles. His hair was a bit unruly despite the gelled attempts to tame it into submission. He looked agitated as he watched movers carry his stuff and barked something to one of them when they bumped their elbow slightly into another mover.

"Edward…Masen I think is his name," Bella said, racking her mind. She had not hired him and as such didn't know much about him.

"Oh he's the asshole down on the 17th floor," Alice recalled, crinkling up her nose in dislike.

"Well, it looks like he's now the asshole on the 33rd floor," Bella commented, watching as he glared wildly at something he found unsatisfactory in his office.

"How the hell did he get an office up here?" Alice demanded.

"Must have been Carlisle," Bella said in confusion, "I had been planning on giving that office to Lewis because of her promotion, but that is no longer looking likely."

"God, he's a dick," Alice breathed. "I don't think I've ever heard of anyone who likes him. Excluding the females and select males who want to jump him."

The man was really quite handsome, Bella couldn't blame them.

"We moved him awhile ago to Investigation and Specialized Crime division," Bella remembered.

Their firm had been diversifying over the past few years in an effort to expand into new markets and that unit specialized in private investigation and were often contracted by local police departments to help with cases that had gone stale. Bella had not necessarily found it the wisest move, getting involved in crime, but their margins in that division were very high and it had been profitable for the company even if it did seem to stray from their core business.

"Probably because no one else could stand him in their division," Alice muttered under her breath. Bella had only spoken to him once or twice and each time he had been decidedly condescending and unpleasant.

Bella stared at the bronze haired man, wondering what Carlisle saw in him.

"Probably," she agreed.


	3. Chapter 2

Bella got out of the office fairly early later that week, right around 6:30. There had been a recent push for employees to leave the office at a more reasonable time and all-nighters were starting to be actively discouraged in the company as the executives felt that did not lend itself to a good work/life balance which was hurting retention.

She was at her brownstone for a couple hours, feeding her cat and convincing herself to work out on the elliptical that she had purchased the previous year. Bella's cat, Harold, was as content as ever to see her and purred as soon as she picked him up since he'd been home alone all day. He was a snuggly black cat and would meow back at her when she felt the need to converse with him.

The brownstone in Chicago had cost a small fortune but she made ridiculously good money at her job and had decided to invest in solid real estate. It was far too big for her, with three bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, a large kitchen and living area as well as a workout room and office that she had converted into something of a library. She figured when she settled down this would be a good place to raise some kiddos; there was even a small lawn which she occasionally paid a neighbor boy to mow.

It was a Friday night and after awhile she got antsy.

She cleaned a little bit, but since she was rarely home, the place was hardly dirty. She thought about taking a bath, but that didn't sound particularly appealing either. She attempted to read both a fiction book and then a nonfiction book before she gave up on those too. She played with Harold before he too grew bored and went to lie near the heat vent in the upstairs bathroom.

Bella could practically hear the conversation she had had with Esme, Carlisle's wife, several times now, ringing through her ears. " _Bella dear, you'll work yourself to death before one day waking up and realizing that life has passed you by. Go out more, relax a little bit, meet a nice guy, settle down, just live a little bit more outside of work_."

Carlisle had remained silent during that conversation, unwilling to chime in to get one of his best employees to work less.

" _Being on Forbes 30 Under 30 doesn't lend itself to relaxation and fun with friends, much less love,"_ she had added.

No, Bella had thought to herself, but she had gotten to some professional athletes' numbers from that gala.

Which she ultimately did nothing with, come to think of it.

Finally, with a growl she moved to grab her keys off of the hook and got into her car.

She had left a stack of physical applications and her notes on candidates' case interviews at work and she figured that she wasn't going to be content until she was doing something productive.

It was ironic really. It was this work ethic that allowed her to be paid so generously so that she could afford the beautiful house and it was the same work ethic that didn't allow her to quietly enjoy the beautiful house.

Since it was nearing 10:00 in the evening on a Friday night, there was not much traffic in the business district of Chicago and she made it into the office fairly quickly. She knew right where the stack of papers that she needed were. The 33rd floor was empty, minus a janitor who was taking his time vacuuming the area and jamming out to some Flo Rida. Bella nodded at him with a smile on her way to her office.

She grabbed that stack of folders and was about to head right back to the elevator when she realized she and the janitor were not the only people on the 33rd floor.

The office that was now occupied by Edward Masen was illuminated by light. Upon first glance Bella didn't see anyone in the room and shaking her head started over in that direction to turn off the light.

"Sustainability, people…" she muttered to herself.

It's not like the planet was going to save itself.

Bella nearly jumped in surprised when she got all the way into the office before noticing that it was in fact occupied.

Occupied by the massive asshole that half of the staff was scared off. And the other half hated.

Edward Masen was sitting at the chair at his desk, but what made Bella gasp loudly was the sight of blood both dried and fresh on various parts of his face. His lip was split open and swollen and she could already see a bruise beginning to form around his left eye. There was dried blood under his nose and he looked like someone had given a beating.

His hands were moving closely by his right eyebrow where a lot of blood seemed to be coming from.

Upon hearing her gasp, his head snapped up like a hawk and stared at her, anger in his eyes.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he growled harshly.

Bella blinked out of the shock of seeing him so bloodied and realized with a shock that he was attempting to crudely stick up the gash near his eyebrow with a needle and some type of thread.

"What happened?" she asked, ignoring his aggressive tone and taking a step closer to his desk.

"None of your concern," he answered in a clipped voice. "Get out."

His tone of voice and his entire body was stiff, as if her presence in the room was causing him physical discomfort, as if he was so repulsed by the sight of her that he was trying to make it perfectly clear to her that she was entirely unwelcome.

Bella could now see that he was having no luck in stitching up the gash because his hands and to some extent, entire body, were shaking. The movement was slight but Bella had learned how to carefully sense it when interviewing candidates to assess whether or not they were more nervous than they were letting on.

"Why aren't you at a hospital?" she said, still taking a step closer to him as if she was approaching an animal.

Edward looked at her harshly, genuine anger in his eyes, as well as some other emotion she couldn't quite place.

"It is none of your concern," he ground out furiously through gritted teeth. "You may leave."

That annoyed the hell out of Bella.

"You don't get to sit in this office bleeding and tell me it's none of my concern," she replied briskly, "Thank you though," she added sarcastically and against her better judgment.

"Your concern is touching," he replied in a tone that implied he was hardly moved, "But again, I'll ask you to leave my office."

While he was speaking he shifted back in his seat to square his shoulders in what she assumed he had meant as a gesture of intimidation but he never got that far because even that slight of movement made him wince and one of his shaking hands went to hold his rib cage in obvious pain.

"You need medical assistance," she said firmly.

"I need you to stop talking to me and leave," he replied scathingly.

"Go to a hospital."

"Go to hell."

Bella masked her surprise at how truly unfriendly and unpleasant he was. No one had ever spoke to her so nastily in her life and she had half a mind to slap him.

She very nearly left in a storm of profanities before she saw his angered face slip into a grimace of pain at the gash on his face that was still bleeding. Just the little flash of pain that he inadvertently allowed her to see made her change her mind about leaving…or cursing him out and throwing things.

"Let me help you then," she said softly, taking the last few steps to his desk.

"No fucking way," he retorted angrily.

"First of all, stop talking to me like that," she said with authority. "Second of all, I'm either helping you or calling for medical assistance. Your choice."

Edward raised his good eyebrow at her silently.

Bella waited while he stared at her incredulously, silently weighing his options and deciding whether or not to call her bluff about calling for assistance. She made it very clear in her expression that it was not a bluff.

"Just who do you think you are?" he ground out.

"Isabella Swan, Executive Director of Human Resource Management," she said snarkily, still waiting.

"Of fucking course you are," Edward muttered to himself. "Of fucking course."

Bella waited with raised eyebrows of her own.

"I do not need or want your help," he repeated in annoyance, "Now if you please leave and get on with whatever you were doing here."

"So I'll call someone else then?" she challenged.

She swore she heard a growl emitted from deep in his throat as he glared at her. His glare was fierce and more intimidating than she cared to admit.

"I swear to God if you maim my face…" he trailed off icily.

"You've clearly already done that yourself," she replied shortly turning on her heel and leaving.

Edward's gaze followed her as she stomped out of his office before arriving back 30 seconds later with a first aid kit that she kept stashed in her own office, something she figured was never bad to have on hand in the field of human resource management.

"What happen-"

"Don't."

His fierce scowl led Bella to drop the question for the time being.

Bella finished putting on the latex gloves and grabbing a disinfectant out of that kit and putting it on a cotton swab before moving to clean the wound. Edward winced at the touch but ground his teeth together and stared determinedly straight ahead.

"Is this sterile?" she asked in a much softer tone, looking down at the needle that he had been attempting to use.

"Yes," he replied in a clipped voice.

Bella nodded to herself and after the cut had been properly disinfected she moved to pick the needle back up. It was a nasty gouge and she was not sure what could have caused it. She looked at the beat up man in genuine concern.

"How did this happen?" she asked again quietly.

"It does not concern you," he answered again, still coldly but with perhaps a little less bite in his tone.

Bella sighed and shook her head before moving to work on stitching him up. She had first aid training as an HR professional but she had never needed to really use it. She concentrated on taking her time and doing as good of job as possible. While she worked, Edward briefly closed his eyes, his jaw still clenched in obvious pain.

It did not take Bella long to finish stitching the wound shut, only having to briefly stop to clear away some of the escaped blood with a disinfectant cloth. The stitches were as close to equal as she could do and the blood seemed to stop flowing after she had finished.

Edward had remained silent under her ministrations, determined not to look at her. His entire body radiated his discomfort at having her in the room, tending to him. She could practically feel his dislike.

After he had moved into the office on the same floor as Bella and her friends, she had looked him up in the employee data base that she had not only access to, but was also responsible for creating. The information was hardly extensive but it had given her more of a working knowledge of him.

Edward Masen was 29 years old and lived in a swanky apartment towards the north side of the city. Based on the PO box number in his address line, she guessed it was an apartment with a view. He was unmarried and had no dependents. He had started work at Cullen Consulting just a year before she did, and certainly before she took her role in HR for the company.

She had looked at his case history as well, seeing what had possibly prompted Carlisle to place him in the crime division and give him the nice office with the view. After perusing through his reports on various consultations, she could see that he was exceptionally smart and truly had an eye for detail. Every analysis he did was more thorough than she had ever seen.

Bella noticed that he had been given less consultations in the past two years and instead had been assigned the consulting investigations of some of the crime families in Chicago. Though they were nothing like _The Godfather_ , Bella knew from their information that there was just very much a presence of a mafia like group; several of them. The police had turned up empty time and time again and when Carlisle announced the company's expansion into forensic investigations, the Chicago PD had been among their first clients.

As of yet, there had been no results from the efforts of that division regarding those crime families, but Bella knew that type of work was not the same as the consulting that her and her peers were familiar with.

Edward started to move once he felt that she had finished her handiwork, but she stopped him. "Just wait."

With his jaw set he remained seated as she grabbed a different type of disposable cloth and ripped the package open to get to it.

Bella took the cloth and then started to slowly wipe away at the dried blood on his skin. After she brushed by a particular tender spot and saw him wince she used an even gentler touch around his face.

For just a second, the air seemed to leave Edward's body. His eyes were closed as she gently brushed the last of the blood away, so she couldn't see his expression, but for just a moment he seemed entirely exhausted.

Bella finished up by putting a small butterfly bandage over the stitched up gash, taking care to do it softly.

"Done," she breathed softly, dropping her hand and taking off her gloves carefully.

Edward's eyes opened and he coldly gazed at her. Bella stared back at him, seeing the bruises starting to form on various places on his face, his lip still split and swollen but no longer bleeding.

"And your ribs?" she asked, not moving to touch them, but just staring at his chest. He was wearing a gray suit with a black shirt underneath.

"They're…" he started acidly before sighing and wincing to himself, "They're fine."

Bella decided not to press him since it seemed such an effort for him to maintain even just an ounce of civility towards her. He clearly had been uncomfortable the entire time she worked on his face and seemed to be reaching his snapping point. Bella was glad to see that his hands had seemed to stop shaking and now he just looked exhausted. She proceeded with caution.

"Edward…are you in danger?" she asked softly in concern, "Is someone threatening you?"

Instead of the anger and coldness she expected, he just looked at her and once again sighed.

"It was just a boxing match at the gym; he got a couple good shots in," he said tightly. "Do not worry about it."

Bella raised an eyebrow, observing the fact that he was still in his suit and had come to his work office to tend to his injuries. She also found it hard to believe that the extent of his injuries could have stemmed from boxing alone.

"Alright," she replied.

They sat in silence for a moment before Bella realized he was not going to say anything else to her on the matter. She moved off of where she had perched on his desk and busied herself with looking through the first aid kit.

"Here, if you take these it'll help with the pain," she handed him two small pills. "And then wipe this cloth over the stitches in a few hours," she instructed, handing the small package to him as well.

"Of course," he intoned sardonically.

Seeing that she was clearly no longer welcome (not that she had really ever been welcomed in the first place) she moved to close the first aid kit and glanced once again at his face to make sure there were no other alarming spots she had missed, even though she knew she hadn't.

"Alright, well then," she said, a bit awkwardly as she moved to walk out of the office. Things rarely made her uncomfortable and she often was in control of any situation that she found herself in…and this was not one of those situations. He made her question her confidence and she was unnerved by him and his unpleasantness.

She was to the threshold of the door when she heard it.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

Bella turned and looked at him and felt a pinch in her heart looking at his face and knowing that was not the full extent of his injuries. She was surprised to see sincerity in his eyes as he looked at her, genuinely appearing grateful, albeit cold and unfriendly.

It was the first time she had ever heard him say something kind.

"You're welcome."

* * *

 **Thanks for checking out this story; I hope you're enjoying it so far! I got the writing bug back in May and this site has continued to pull me back in for the last 7 years, so here I am.**

 **Settle in boys and girls, this is going to be a good one.**


	4. Chapter 3

The next week Bella found herself unable to shake her curiosity about Edward Masen.

The man had shown up to work on Monday following her run in with him a few days prior and he looked almost spotless. Gone were the bruises that she knew were there and instead only a small band aid remained over the gauge she had stitched up. Even his lip that had been split open was not visible.

Bella knew that he had to have been wearing some type of foundation. And she wondered why he had gone to such lengths to cover his face if it had just been from a workout gone awry. It also looked expertly done, which made her suspicious that he had had experience with using foundation before.

The incident on Friday was not brought up by Edward and Bella did not say a word of it to any of her friends or Carlisle. Being in HR was a tricky line to walk because if people felt she gossiped about their lives, they would be much less likely to approach her if need be, so she made sure to keep a rather confidential approach when dealing with any employees.

So she didn't say anything, which almost made her think about it more.

Edward was not an approachable person by nature and he was still horribly unpleasant when she passed him on Tuesday in the hallway. She had given him a polite nod and received nothing less than a sneer in response. She couldn't help but wonder what made him so ridiculously mean to people, especially in a company in which employees were actively encouraged to treat their coworkers as family.

It was later that week when she realized she would be conducting second round interviews with select candidates for positions in the Investigation and Specialized Crime division of the company which was expanding to meet current demand of services. And then she saw which member of that division was scheduled to interview with her.

Edward Masen.

In a similar way that Jasper had been present in interviews last week with candidates vying for a position within the department Jasper managed, Edward would be present to provide specific information and ask more detailed questions of the candidate. For many departments the representative was assigned in a rotation because there were few people who particularly enjoyed the interview process.

Bella loved it and took pride in selecting the best talent for the best positions and contributing to the success of the company. She particularly enjoyed interviewing with Jasper and Alice because they always were very in tune with candidates.

She somehow doubted that Edward would provide the same experience.

A few hours before the interviews were set to begin, Bella personally popped over to Edward's office to make sure he was prepared for them. She slipped in through the closed door, which she had never actually seen open, before he could protest.

Edward was sitting at his desk, looking over papers in a file that were neatly spread around his desk. He looked up at her when she walked in and just gazed at her, unimpressed. His lips curled up a little in distaste.

Bella noted again that he seemed to have taken the stitches out and that his face was either almost entirely heeled or well disguised under different types of concealers.

"Yes?" he intoned after she didn't say anything.

"I was just coming to confirm that you would be ready for interviews to begin in two hours," she said, trying to appear unfazed by his coldness.

"Yes. I can hardly wait," he sneered.

Bella's eyes narrowed at his tone. Clearly he was not thrilled that it was his turn to interview.

"Was that all?" he asked impatiently, glancing at the door behind her.

"Yes," she answered in her own clipped voice and then spun on her heel and proceeded to do something akin to a stomp, out of his office, her heels clicking forcefully.

As Bella prepared for the interviews in the next couple of hours, she dug deeper into the Investigation and Specialized Crime division and learned more about the structure. They employed several private investigators who did anything from discovering suspected marital affairs to helping some homicides which local police departments did not have the resources to. Most of it seemed relatively benign with the exception of the company's work with the Chicago Police Department and certain organized crime organizations in the area.

There were always rumblings of the mob having a presence in Chicago and every so often they would make the news in ties with suspected murders but rarely was there anything concretely pinned on them. Bella had always just regarded them as more of an urban legend than really anything dangerous but it seemed the police department disagreed with her assessment.

Cullen Consulting had files and preliminary information on the Marino's the Rossi's and supposedly the most dangerous of all of them, the Brigado's. The Brigados immigrated from Italy over 100 years ago and the head of their family was the 21st century equivalent to Al Capone: Roman Brigado. He had several sons that all lived in the cities as well and were connected with the family business of organized crime.

Their firm had dozens and dozens of pages profiling the members of the families as well as prominent employees who worked under them. Every case they had ever been connected with was on file at their consulting firm. It seemed the police had run into walls time and time again and were turning to a private firm to help them.

The more Bella looked in the supposed mafia, the more concerned she grew. These men were tied to violent crimes, not just petty misdemeanors, but terrible, horrible crimes.

But nothing was ever pinned to them.

She was not an alarmist by nature, but she was rather alarmed that their business was getting involved in this area of crime - in _opposition_ of the powerful and seemingly deadly families.

Bella's thoughts were interrupted by Rosalie walking into her office, startling Bella. "Your first candidate as arrived. That Masen dick is waiting for you in the conference room," Rosalie said, her nose scrunching in dislike.

"Oh!" Bella exclaimed, looking at the time and moving to gather all of the materials she needed. "Thank you!"

"I don't know what that man's problem is but there seems to be a stick so far up his ass he is actually incapable of being even remotely kind," Rose was ranting.

"True," Bella agreed, moving to leave her office, braced to spend the next few hours with said dick.

Edward appeared in an even worse mood when Bella entered the conference room. He was strumming his fingers in what Bella assumed was a deliberate manner, making sure she knew his impatience and annoyance.

Charming.

Bella settled in the chair next to him, frankly kind of worried that he would bite.

Rosalie escorted the first interviewee in the room and Bella stood to shake the young man's hand and introduce herself.

"Hi, I'm Isabella Swan," she said, noting his firm, yet clammy handshake. The young man was wearing an ill-fitting yet expensive suit and she could see the perspiration on his brow. When he greeted her in response, she could smell his lunch on his breath. Bella made sure not to wrinkle her brow.

The young man looked over at Edward and Bella's gaze followed. The man had made no move to stand up and instead offered the candidate a tight nod and snarl when the latter awkwardly offered his hand. "And this is my colleague, Edward," she introduced, shocked at his display of rudeness.

"Nice to meet you, Edward," he greeted.

"Mr. Masen," he snapped in correction.

Bella almost rolled her eyes.

"Oh, no, sir, I'm Jonathon _Meadows_ ," the young man corrected frantically with wide eyes, "Not Masen."

Edward's lips actually curled back in a disgusted snarl.

"Thank you Mr. Meadows for coming in, but I do not anticipate a successful future for you in this company. Ms. Swan will show you out."

Bella's mouth almost dropped in a shock and Jonathon Meadows' actually did. He started to sputter out incoherent words before Bella regained her composure and began to see him to the door. "Thank you for coming in," she said, "We'll be in touch."

Rosalie was staring at her and the candidate who had been in the room for approximately 17 seconds in shock. She watched Bella escort the man towards the elevator before mouthing "What the hell?" at her. Bella gave her a tight smile in return before stalking angrily back into the conference room.

"What the fuck was that?" she demanded, storming in and not bothering to filter her anger.

Edward raised a lazy eyebrow at her.

"He wasn't qualified," he said simply, moving to examine some imaginary dirt beneath his short fingernails.

Bella had never thought him more of an absolute douche bag than that moment.

She wanted to punch him.

She wanted to hit him really hard.

Many times.

"If you think that's acceptable behavior in my interviews," she started, "You have never been more wrong. If you try pulling anything like that again, I'll kick you out of here."

Edward actually smirked at her. But it was not a nice smirk, it was a nasty smirk.

"Ms. Swan, I'd be more than pleased to kick myself out of these interviews if it would ease your burden."

Bella refused to acknowledge that he had her.

"So be it. You'll be thrilled to get the bottom of the pack new hires in your department. Have fun training them."

Edward narrowed his eyes, dropping his hand. He glared at her as she stared challengingly at him.

"Fine," he growled, "Bring in the next one."

The next candidate that came in was a young woman with a duel degree in Sociology of Law and Criminal Deviance and Business Administration. She had graduated from Brown and had experience as a private investigator in New York City at a smaller firm. She confidently shook Bella's hand and gave Edward a polite nod when he once again refused to stand and Bella introduced him as "My associate, Edward Masen," that time.

Edward was silently glaring at the young woman as she walked them through her resume, that she had provided hard copies of upon request, even though both of them already had them. It was a test on Bella's part, to weed out the unprepared. She answered several questions about her knowledge of the company and Bella was deciding that she liked her and was about to ask another question when Edward interrupted her.

"I'm going to say some words and I want you to respond in one word summarizing your feelings on the word."

Bella looked over at him in surprise once again.

She hated him a little bit.

The young woman also looked surprised but nodded in confirmation that she understood the instructions.

"Crime."

"Varied," she replied immediately.

"Investigations."

"Complex," she answered, pausing a little bit.

They continued on, Edward throwing word after word at her, some related to the business and his department and others more random in nature.

"Murder."

"Bad," she answered, immediately, giving a small laugh, reflecting her bubbly personality.

Edward paused and did not immediately give her another word. He looked at her with a single raised eyebrow, his face darkening as her own nervous smile started to fade.

"Bad?" he repeated sardonically.

The young woman did not have time to reply, nor did she really even know what to say in response judging by the look on her face.

"Bad," he repeated again, pronouncing with word with acid in his tone. "I think we've finished our interview now. Thank you for coming in, I wish you all the best of luck in re-determining a career for yourself because I see know reason why you should continue to pursue positions related to crime."

When the woman gasped in shock, Bella could see angry and embarrassed tears begin to well in her eyes as her face turned red.

After she didn't move fast enough, Edward looked at her in annoyance and nodded, "Good day."

Once again, Bella felt anger well up inside of her as she stood from the table and moved to go and hold open the glass door for her leading out to the elevators. This time it was not just Rosalie, but several of her coworkers gawking at her as she escorted a now crying young woman out.

By the time Bella returned to the conference room, she was seething with anger. Never mind the fact that some of the words he asked her about had been borderline illegal interview questions, she could not believe that he had been so horrible to what she had considered an incredibly qualified individual.

Edward sat next to her seemingly undisturbed by anything other than what he perceived as a waste of his time.

When the next candidate came in, Edward pulled the exact same shit as the previous two and Bella was sure that she was going to meet the same tearful end as they did as well. Edward had gotten halfway through his little word game and he broke off suddenly and smoothly pulled his phone out of his suit pocket. His entire face hardened as he pushed away from the conference table and stood up, holding the phone to his ear.

"Masen," he said curtly, walking out of the conference room in fluid movements.

Bella was stunned to watch it. Interviewers' phones had rung before, but they always turned them off in embarrassment or excused themselves politely and apologetically if they absolutely could not miss the call.

They never just left.

Instead of asking more questions, Bella just gave the candidate an apologetic smile before falling into silence, observing her as they waited. She fidgeted a little bit but almost seemed to appreciate the reprieve from Edward's harshness.

Edward's phone call did not last long. Bella glanced out the glass walls to where he stood in the hallway and whoever he was talking to was clearly agitating him, as his face was pinched up in either stress or dislike, maybe both. After only a few moments he hung up the phone and once again entered the conference room, not saying a word in apology about the interruption. When he was seated he looked over at Bella with a cold nod, gesturing for her to continue with her own questions and note taking.

She was the first candidate to make it through the entire interview without Edward biting her head off, but Edward also didn't even seem to be listening after he returned from his phone call. He didn't say one word or even scowl when she gave what Bella felt was an incredibly weak answer.

The last candidate of the afternoon was a current Federal Bureau of Investigation employee. One of Bella's head hunters had recruited him in the FBI to apply for a much more lucrative position in the privatized sector. He was a no nonsense, muscle man who calmly answered all of Edward's questions with ease, though he did immediately seem to acknowledge Edward's authority in the situation. He was incredibly qualified and Bella was ready to skip the next few interviews and offer the position to him right then and there, though she didn't.

At the end of the interview, Bella thanked him for coming in and stood up from her spot at the table. "If you'll come to my office, Mr. Marcus, we can discuss next steps in the process."

Leaving Edward, they walked past Rosalie who looked like she had a million questions about what all had happened in the previous interviews. She escorted him into her office, shutting the door behind her, and gestured for him to take a seat.

She was going to try something different.

"Mr. Marcus, the next step in the process is a bit unusual," she prefaced, because it was. "By 11am tomorrow morning, I want you to find absolutely all information you possibly can on…Edward Masen, and bring it to me."

It was an assessment only used for positions specifically concerned with investigations, but usually Bella just gave them her own name to see what all they could find about her. She had used Alice's once because the latter had insisted she find out what was all known about her, and sometimes she used Jasper's name. Emmett had said "Fuck no," when she asked about his.

"The Edward Masen in the interview?" he asked.

Bella nodded.

Mr. Marcus gave his own nod in return. "I'll see you at 11 in the morning, ma'am."

* * *

Bella was more anxious than usual come the next day. She had mostly said Edward's name just to spite him for being such an absolute douche during interviews, but she realized that it had also stemmed from her curiosity that had been peeked since she found him bleeding in the office late at night the previous week.

She realized that it was borderline unethical what she was doing, but she received her one and only A- in college in Corporate Ethics from Notre Dame and she was still bitter about that. Plus, all of their employees had to pass incredibly detailed background checks to get hired and were subject to additional checks at random.

At 10:42am, Rosalie called to let her know that a Mr. Marcus was there to speak with her regarding his assignment.

"Mr. Marcus," she smiled warmly in greeting as he walked into her office. He nodded professionally, holding a manila envelopment in his hands.

"Ms. Swan," he replied, settling down in the seat that she had gestured to across from her. "My assignment," he said, handing her the folder.

Bella realized that her stomach was flipping a little bit as she opened up the file. She was immediately impressed at the formatting of his report, as it was typed similar to many of their consulting reports for commercial businesses. It detailed basic information about him that she had known based on their employee records including his age, educational history, and address.

Mr. Marcus was quiet as he watched her and then she realized now was perhaps not the best time to analyze the information.

"Thank you, Mr. Marcus, the information looks complete and I'll be sure to look it over thoroughly as a measure of assessment," she informed him, moving to stand up.

"Ms. Swan, I'm afraid there's a couple of more, ah…sensitive, things that may require a bit of explanation," he said, seeming a bit uncomfortable. "If you'll um, turn to the photos at the end."

Bella did as he asked and flipped towards the back of the file. There were several large 8x11 photos, all black and white and all of Edward.

"Mr. Masen appears to have a relatively normal life, if not a bit of a reclusive one. His parents are both dead and doesn't have any other family on record. It doesn't appear that he has many friends or really any associates he spends much time with. He has however, been spotted multiple times eating at Bite, the restaurant downtown that is owned by one of the Brigado sons."  
Bella looked at the picture of him entering the restaurant.

"After talking with a chatty hostess, it seems that he always eats alone and always orders the same thing. He is served by the same waiter every time as well," Mr. Marcus said slowly.

Bella was not necessarily sure what that meant, but Mr. Marcus was looking at her meaningfully.

"And this one?" she asked, flipping to the next picture.

It was Edward reaching into the back of his waistband of a suit.

"Masen appears to be the owner of several guns, which he carries regularly on his person. And while that isn't necessarily illegal, it doesn't appear as if those guns were legally purchased, nor does he actually have a permit to conceal and carry," Marcus said as Bella stared at the picture.

Bella didn't even know what to think, but she was trying to process this information with the knowledge she already had of Edward Masen.

"And this one?" she asked.

It wasn't of Edward; it was of what appeared to be an underground garage.

"He also owns a few um, very nice cars. Very…expensive nice cars." Bella squinted a little bit and saw that those were in fact, very nice cars. Again, there was nothing necessarily suspicious about him having nicer cars, but several nice cars made her raise an eyebrow; she had seen his salary and it was good but she's not sure it was that good.

"When were these taken?" Bella asked, moving to close the folder again.

"Last night."

Mr. Marcus was looking at her and he didn't seem concerned about his pending job application. He kind of shook his head to himself. "Mr. Masen is one interesting man."

Bella could only nod in response.

Interesting…and potentially dangerous.

* * *

Thanks for the reviews - ya'll bring life to my soul.

Happy Friday!


	5. Chapter 4

Bella hadn't slept much in the past week.

The lack of sleep wasn't due to an excessive work load as she found that she was caught up in all of her work and adequately prepared for all of the orientations that would be taking place in the coming weeks. There were no employee relation concerns or anything pressing that would cause her to stay up later working.

She just could not sleep.

And it was Edward fucking Masen's fault.

Bella felt angry and confused and then angry about being so confused every time she thought the insufferable man's name.

They had only spoken one time since the ill-fated interviews. It was in the elevator when both of them were traveling up to the 33rd floor and he seemed positively determined not to look at her. Bella had finally cleared her throat and said, "We're going to to continue to move forward in the process with Mr. Marcus."

Well, actually, now that Bella was thinking back to the incident, they hadn't really spoken because the only reply she got was a raised eyebrow and nod to confirm that he had in fact heard what she had had to say.

The file that Mr. Marcus had given her on Edward Masen was with her at all times. She kept it either in her desk at work or in her bag when she returned home at night. She just could not shake the feeling that something was going on, something that maybe shouldn't be going on.

And the worst part was that she had really tried to shake the feeling. Honest to God it was not her wish to be obsessed with the odd and reclusive life of the nastiest member of their firm. She had so many other things she could be doing with her time instead of fixating on him, but try as she might, she could not get him out of her mind.

Against her better judgment she had voiced her concerns to Rosalie and Alice when they were eating lunch at a nicer restaurant near the office, basking in the early summer's sunshine and politely ignoring how utterly pale the other was.

"Have you guys ever spoke with Edward Masen?" Bella had asked, immediately taking a sip of water to appear nonchalant.

She swore Alice growled.

"I make every effort not to," she said bitterly. "On one of my interns first day of work, he accidentally bumped into the man and two drops of coffee spilt on the ground and Masen sat there in the middle of hallway and berating his intelligence until he was in tears, in front of everyone!"

"He's a nightmare," Rosalie agreed, stabbing her salad a little too aggressively. "He has annihilated some of the other secretaries when he absolutely can't avoid talking to them. One of them left work a few hours early to compose herself after a run in with him."

"How does he still have a job?" Alice growled before Bella could say anything else, "He treats everyone like shit and I don't think he actually has a single friend in the office."

They both looked at Bella expectantly.

Bella held up her hands in defense, "Don't look at me. I did not hire him and I did not really even know he existed until he got his new office." Upon seeing their looks, she snapped, "Which I did not give him."

So while both of her friends apparently hated him, they didn't mention any suspicions of him being potentially a dangerous person. Bella already had gathered that everyone not only disliked but frankly feared the man.

Bella was sitting at her desk at home in her converted library of sorts. Since it was just her who lived there and at times she felt she earned more money than she knew what to do with, she had spent a lot of money in converting the space into an in-home library. There was floor to ceiling bookshelves everywhere except where the fireplace was. There were two plush, antique chairs seated cozily in front of the fire on the opposite side of the room of her desk, which was made of the same wood as the bookshelves.

On the desk which she was standing at she had all of Edward's file spread in front of her as she perused it and tried to find anything that she might have missed in the previous times that she had looked it over.

Since looking it over for the first time, Bella noticed that there was no mention of Edward belonging to a gym much less a gym with a boxing facility. It made his boxing excuse for his bloodied face even less believable than originally.

Why did he carry a gun? Like Marcus had said, it wasn't necessarily illegal to own a gun, but he didn't own it legally. And why did he always have it on him? Or did he ever have it on him? Bella had attempted to detect its presence by staring at Edward's backside when he was turned, but other than an admittedly nicely shaped ass covered in expensive slacks, she couldn't make out a gun tucked in his waistband.

And why did he not have it registered? He would have no problem getting one legally. She could even see how it might make sense for him to have one for work…but if it was exclusively for work, then why had he obtained illegally? Hell he could probably get the firm to reimburse his purchase if he made enough of a case for its necessity.

But he hadn't.

Bella looked over at the picture that he wasn't in, of the cars in the garage.

Again, it was by no means a crime for Edward to have such nice cars, she was more so confused on how he afforded them. She had seen his salary and any and all bonuses that he had received from the company. Marcus had also included the listing for the apartment he lived in…he of course lived in a penthouse suite. Where did he get all of his money?

But time and time again, it was the last picture that made her the most uneasy. At first, it appeared completely innocuous. Edward had a favorite restaurant that he frequented and had a favorite item on the menu, so what? He even had the same waiter, big deal. It was the additional information Mr. Marcus had attached to the picture that made her the most concerned.

 _Bite is owned by Luca Brigado, the youngest of Roman Brigado's three sons. Roman Brigado is the supposed leader to the Chicago Outfit (commonly referred to as the Chicago Mafia.) The Brigados are the oldest organized crime family in the country and often face little opposition by the other families tied with organized crime in the area. The Brigados are allegedly connected with drug trades, weapon dealing and human trafficking. Among the illegal dealings, two of the sons also own and operate legal operations, including hotels and restaurants, Bite being one of them. These legal businesses are rumored to often be used as meeting places for their illicit transactions._

All of that information was interesting if not chilling, but why had he added it? He hadn't added information about the other pictures-not even what type of cars that he owned even though it could have easily been researched.

Bella's stomach droppe as she read the brief paragraph again.

Was he trying to tell her something?

* * *

Later that afternoon Bella was seated in the Cullen's expansive backyard, perched on a comfy patio chair and enjoying some type of iced drink with the rest of their odd little "family" of sorts.

Carlisle was hosting one of his notorious family meals for the four of them. They were having an outdoor barbeque in celebration of the beautiful weather that had settled upon the Midwest region.

The Cullen residence was a little way outside of the heart of Chicago in one of the very wealthy gated neighborhoods. Bella suspected that they owned the properties on each side of their house because they were suspiciously surrounded by nature. The house was far too big for just the two of them and Esme often commented that her favorite times were when it was filled with people.

Carlisle was standing at the barbeque chatting animatedly with Alice about the newly improved website design that she had been working tirelessly on. Jasper and Emmett were further over in the grass tossing a football between them. Bella caught Jasper occasionally glancing over at Alice and smiling goofily to himself. She and Esme were seated in some of the comfy outdoor furniture and Esme also saw Jasper's occasional lovesick glances.

"They are just precious," she said conspiringly, shaking her head with a grin.

Bella had to agree. And she ignored the little pang of jealousy that sometimes popped up when she was around two blatantly in love people.

"Why don't you bring your secretary, Rosalie, around next time you're over?" Esme suggested. "I like her, she'd be good for him."

Bella looked over at her with a raised eyebrow and then followed her glance over to Emmett who had just caught the ball and spun around dramatically.

"She kicks ass," Bella muttered in agreement.

Esme laughed. "And that's why she'd be good for him. Is she seeing anyone?"

Bella shook her head. "She keeps going in between boyfriends but never for more than six months at a time."

The elder woman grinned. "Bring her over," she said knowingly.

In the early years of their marriage, Esme had helped Carlisle build the consulting firm from the ground up. She had been essential in almost every role outside of consulting: managing marketing, publicity, public relations, and human resources. It was about seven years ago when she finally started to reel back in those roles and now she no longer held an official position besides her chair on the board.

Esme had actually conducted one of the interviews that eventually led to Bella's hiring. In fact, she had been essential in bringing all four of them onboard. Both she and Carlisle recognized their potential and took them under their wings. Looking back, Esme realized it might have been a bit of midlife crisis about realizing that she was childless that drove her maternal instinct to nurture all of them, but she was glad she had.

"How is filling those positions in the ISC going?" she asked, referring to the Investigation and Specialized Crime division that Bella was working to expand.

Bella groaned before she could stop herself, immediately flooded with thoughts of Edward and all of the information that Marcus had given her. She'd made it about 25 minutes without thinking about him.

Esme winced. "That poorly, huh?"

Bella sighed. "No it's going alright, a little slower than usual but these aren't the typical candidates that we work with either."

Esme nodded understandingly.

Bella then looked her curiously as she thought about something. "Esme, did you hire Edward Masen? Or do you remember that name?"

Recognition filled Esme's eyes immediately; however, instead of answering immediately she moved to take a drink of her beverage, something Bella often did to appear nonchalant. She was instantly suspicious.

"I personally didn't make the decision to hire him but I was involved in his interview process," she replied. "Actually, Carlisle was too since that was such an important couple of years of hiring for the company."

"What was I involved in?" Carlisle asked as he made his way with dirty tongs to where their outdoor sink was.

"Hiring decisions," Bella answered quickly, not wanting to blurt Edward's name around others. Carlisle looked at her suspiciously but Bella waved it off in a gesture she hoped he recognized as meaning "We'll talk later."

The six of them sat down to eat and while Emmett and Alice were heatedly discussing a recent case that had been taking up much of the firm's time and resources, Esme put her foot down.

"No more work talk! It's a Sunday, relax."

Five sets of eyes had looked at her and all blinked in sync.

Esme rolled her eyes. "Just because you are all incapable of thinking about things outside of work doesn't mean everyone is."

"Well Mae," Emmett groaned, using his nickname for her that she secretly adored, "What do you want us to talk about? You already got those two almost hitched and settled, what do you want to talk about now? Bella's dismal love life?"

Bella's eyes narrowed at the teasing.

"It's dismal by choice," she retorted.

"Uh huh," Emmett joked back sassily.

 _Oh just you wait_ , Bella thought to herself as she looked at him, _Rose is going to kick your ass_.

"Yeah, you can't hound us anymore," Jasper said, holding up his hand to Alice for a high five across the table. With a giggle, Alice obliged him.

"I shouldn't have to hound you…" Esme was grumbling to herself, though they could all see that she could hardly mask her delight at their upcoming nuptials. She had been heavily involved in the wedding planning process.

"Speaking of which, do you all have your tuxedos ready to go?" she asked accusingly at Emmett and Carlisle.

Carlisle put a hand on his chest in mock hurt. "When do I ever look less than pristine?"

Esme gave an unladylike snort.

"Well," Alice defended, "I just don't want that first time to be when you're walking me down the aisle."

Carlisle gave her a fatherly wink and went back to eating his chicken. Alice was "A card carrying member of the dead parents' club" as her father died when she was two and her mother a few years ago from cancer. She had asked Carlisle to walk her down the isle and Esme had shed tears and frankly so had Bella.

"I'm good to go," Emmett added, chasing a bite of chicken with a swing of beer. "I had to get a new tux for that stupid charity gala Bella made me go to."

Bella rolled her eyes dismissively. "I'm not always necessarily thrilled to be your stand-in girlfriend all the time. And it wasn't that stupid."

"It was for homeless cats," Emmett replied bitterly while Carlisle choked a little bit laughing.

"And dogs!" Bella added indignantly, even though it had been kind of stupid. A formal event for Chicago's homeless pet population had been a tad excessive, but it was important that they made appearances for that sort of thing.

"And dogs," he agreed, raising his beer in a mock solute before taking another swing of it.

"Bella, maybe you should get a dog!" Alice suggested, nudging her with an elbow.

"I can barely keep Harold alive with the hours I work," she protested, thinking about the last time she had forgotten to feed him and he thrown up in her bedroom just to piss her off.

Esme sighed warningly as the topic conversation teetered uncomfortably close to work.

"Well that cat is the worst so that really wouldn't be that big of a shame…" Jasper trailed off. Harold was not a huge Jasper fan and would uncharacteristically hiss if the man ever got too close to him.

"He's only the worst to you," Bella retorted smugly, sipping her own drink.

She swore she heard him mutter, "Monster," under his breath.

The six of them enjoyed the rest of their meal filled with companionable chatting that did not revolve around work. Bella was glad Esme insisted on it, because she actually found that for the first time in approximately two weeks that she was not thinking about Edward and for that she was grateful.

Jasper and Alice left shortly after dinner and Esme dragged Emmett to get his opinion on a landscaping project so that left Bella to help Carlisle with clearing the table and doing the dishes. The two worked in companionable silence while Bella worked up the nerve to actually as what was on her mind.

Fortunately, Carlisle brought it up for her.

"What were you and Esme talking about earlier?" he asked, rinsing a plate under the stream of water before handing to her to place in the dishwasher.

"Edward Masen," Bella answered simply, deciding not to beat around the bush.

Carlisle had his face turned from her as he grabbed another plate so she did not see his reaction. He asked, "What about him?"

"I think there's something going on with him," Bella said, putting it lightly.

He made a noncommittal noise in response. "Hm?"

"Well it's just that I came into the office a couple weeks ago late on a Friday night and Edward was there, and his face was bruised and bloodied and he was trying to stitch up his own face. I helped him with that part, but he didn't tell me anything other than that it was a boxing workout," she explained in one exhale.

Much to her great surprise, Carlisle gave her a grin in response. "Those workouts can get awfully violent."

"But he was wearing a suit," Bella protested, stopping work on the dishes.

Carlisle shrugged, "That's odd."

"And some other things have come up too. Did you know he always carries a gun on him? One that he doesn't own legally? And that he frequents establishments owned by the Brigado family? And that-"

Carlisle stopped her.

"Has there been a complaint about him carrying a firearm?"

Bella shook her head. "Well, no."

"And he works in a division that is involved with those dealings so it doesn't surprise me that his investigating has led him to their restaurants," Carlisle added, continuing on with his rinsing.

Upon seeing Bella's skeptical face, Carlisle grinned. "Other than being a bit unfriendly, he's a good employee. I wouldn't worry about him," he dismissed.

Bella was a bit in shock as she went back to help him load the dishwasher.

Carlisle had never dismissed any of her concerns like he just had.

He always listened and confirmed his belief in her ability to handle whatever situation it was; he _never_ just shrugged them off.

If anything, Bella was warier of Edward Masen than ever.

* * *

Happy Sunday! Hope everyone is enjoying this tale - big thanks to those who have already kindly recommended this story to friends.

Next chapter, we'll be getting a look into what Edward's been up to - should be a fun one! Thanks for all of your lovely reviews :)


	6. Chapter 5

Edward Masen was annoyed - more so than usual anyway.

His fingers tapped against the steering wheel of his Ferrari with more frustration than ever as he did his best to weave through other cars on the highway, who seemed to be taking their sweet time. A woman in a minivan flipped him off when he maneuvered in front of her in the left lane.

Edward rolled his eyes in response.

After glancing at the watch on his wrist he swore to himself, "Fuck."

He was running late and would have to make up for lost time. He tapped the gas pedal just the slightest bit and the smooth car raced forward.

The reason he was so annoyed was that he had to drive a fucking hour out of the heart of Chicago to get to an area of private land to meet with Roman. The man always requested meetings at the worst possible times, be it 4 in the morning or apparently out in the middle of nowhere in the heart of the work week.

Edward understood the odd meeting places, of course, since they never had conversations over the telephone. If using a phone was necessary, Edward always communicated with one of Roman's sons' assistants. They usually just told him where to be and when and said little else. But still, sometimes he was annoyed.

Eventually Edward steered the Ferrari to an exit and skillfully maneuvered the car around the small town before ending up heading down a private winding driveway which led to a small house which one would except belonged to a modest middle class family. There were two other cars parked near the house, each more expensive than his own car.

Before sliding out of the two door vehicle, Edward reached over and grabbed his Browning 9x18 from under the passenger seat and slid it into his belt as always. It wasn't his gun of choice but it would suffice for the day.

Edward ran a hand through his hair, appearing confident and collected as he readjusted his suit jacket after the longer drive. After only the briefest of pauses and a small breath meant to collect himself, he confidently strode over to the front door and rapped against it with his knuckles just once.

A large black man opened the door and narrowed his eyes at him before giving him a nod. "Mr. Masen," he greeted.

Edward nodded in response but said nothing else as he entered the house. He gave a smirk when he saw that the upper level of the house really did look like it was owned by a modest middle class family. The furniture and other décor was cheery, the kitchen was different shades of yellow and white. It looked very inviting.

"Mr. Brigado is waiting for you downstairs," the man told him, nodding to a door near the supposed living room.

Without a word, Edward opened up the door and followed the stairway down to the lower level. He took in the environment he was now in and nodded to himself a little bit; this is what he had expected.

The basement did not resemble the upper part of the house in the slightest. The floor was a polished concrete as were all of the walls. There were several different guns displayed on the walls as was there a safe which he assumed held more. On one wall there were chains strung up higher, handcuffs on each of the ends of the chains. There was also a cabinet that appeared to hold dozens of different chemicals and substances. It was lit with a harsh fluorescent light and smelled so strongly of bleach that Edward's nose almost wrinkled.

There were two other occupants of the room that Edward's eyes immediately fell on.

Roman was smoking a cigar, dressed immaculately in a black Armani suit. As usual not a single hair was out of place. He was coldly gazing at the other man in the room, or at least Edward assumed he was a man.

The other person in the room was strapped on some type of recliner. It was in the shape of a lounger one would expect to see on a patio. But this was no lounger. It was black leather and had a place where cuffs came out of the sides to hold that man's arms firmly in place. Two other black belts that were strapped against his chest and his knees. And finally there was a black cloth bag completely over his face.

Roman turned and noticed Edward appraising the strapped down man who was twitching a little bit, his head rolling to the side with gurgling groan.

"LSD," Roman explained with a nod, "And…other substances."

Edward nodded indifferently, looking away as the man started to try and flail and groan once again.

"He was one of my accountants," Roman explained, "Embezzled $5000 from me over the years."

Edward knew that to Roman, that was just pennies. He assumed it was the principle of loyalty more than anything that was responsible for this man's unfortunate predicament.

"And your sons were busy?" Edward asked.

Roman gave a deathly stare. "I wanted to handle it myself. I take dishonesty very seriously, Edward."

Edward didn't know whether or not the words were meant as a warning to him, but knowing the king of the crime world, he assumed they were.

"Plus," he added with a frightening grin, "I perfected this type of torture. It is always fun to be reminded of my youth. I'll put an end to him in a few hours…after all, he's likely felt like he's been fire for about five hours now."

As if to prove his point, the man strapped to the chair started to let out blood curdling screams as he thrashed around against his restraints. Edward maintained a passive face as he stared at his suffering.

"But alas, we have our own bit of business to attend to, now don't we?" Roman said, taking a puff of his cigar and clapping Edward on the shoulder fondly.

"Yes," Edward agreed, ignoring the screams filling the space as Roman was.

"What have you to report for me?" he prompted. "What does that little firm of yours know these days?" he asked with an amused smirk.

"It's about the guns that are scheduled to arrive from Bangladesh in a week's time," he said.

Roman nodded fondly. "There some pretty little toys in that shipment."

Edward wished he didn't look so excited given the news he was about to deliver. The man had a tendency to become volatile.

"The firm knows about them," he said flatly.

Roman's eyes darkened as he snapped, "What?"

Edward continued. "They know that it was your family who placed the order and they know that they are set to arrive in Chicago after getting into the country."

"And what is their plan with this information?" Roman seethed.

Edward shook his head. "That remains to be seen. A possible course of action is alerting the Feds about the shipment and they'll be waiting to collect the shipment as soon as it crosses the Pacific. Or they may just make sure the event is heavily photographed and just wait to act until I'm sure they believe they can find more information and ensure charges will be pressed."

Roman appeared livid.

"I would suggest abandoning the shipment, or rerouting it for the time being, sir. Perhaps send it to Colombia for awhile?" Edward suggested.

"That fucking business of yours," he growled. "How did they get that information? It should have been impossible to detect."

Edward shook his head. "I do not know, sir. I only heard the information after listening to two of my colleagues who are on the case. I would guess Bangladesh's online security systems may not be as strong as yours, sir."

"I will figure something out," Roman snapped before taken another swing of his almost forgotten cigar. He blew out a breath angrily.

"What of the Marino's or the Rossi's?" he demanded eventually.

"The Marino's have remained quiet; we have not seen or heard anything from them in weeks now after those kills went public-"

"Sloppy bastards," he hissed.

"Indeed," Edward agreed. "And there may be a development with the Rossi's in the Los Angeles area, but at this point that is just speculation."

Roman nodded, seemingly pleased that the other families in the area were not currently fucking things up.

"Anything else?" he prompted.

Edward shook his head; that was all the information he was meant to give. "No, sir."

Roman nodded and then unexpectedly put his hand on Edward's cheek. Edward did his best not to flinch at the unexpected contact.

"I see that you have healed nicely from your last roundabout with my son," he said with a chuckle, tapping his face before removing his hand from Edward's skin.

Edward gave a stiff nod in response, unsure how to respond.

"You understand, I'm sure, that he was just taking his frustrations out," Roman continued, "Fair turnabout in his eyes, since it is your employer who has given us the most trouble as of late."

Edward nodded, "Of course sir."

Images of a certain brown haired woman finding him and tending to his wounds flooded through his mind, and he briefly thought about her surprisingly gentle touch before clearing his mind.

Roman then glanced over at the man who had finally stopped screaming and was now violently shaking and moaning.

"Do you still have the gift I gave to you from our last shipment?" Roman asked.

Edward pulled the Browning out of his belt and smoothly swung it around on his fingers with a smirk. "Yes, sir."

Roman laughed. "Treating you well then?"

Edward continued to smirk. "Certainly. Thank you again for your generosity."

"Anything for you," Roman laughed, clapping him once again on the shoulder. "It's a pleasure to have you on board, Masen."

"The pleasure is all mine, sir," he replied.

Roman than nodded over to the man. "Would you like to finish him?" he asked, glancing pointedly down at the gun he had given Edward a few months ago.

Edward smirked. "I couldn't possibly spoil your fun of reminiscing, sir."

Roman laughed gaily but then looked at him seriously. "Just one shot then, and I'll finish him later."

Edward knew it was an order, not a request.

"Of course, sir," he agreed, smoothly removing the safety off of his gun and taking aim at the withering body in front of him, not letting his hands shake.

Edward aimed the gun at the man's hip and pulled the trigger. The shot rang through the concrete roomed and seemed to bounce off the walls as the bullet ripped through the man's right hip, likely shattering the bone. Blood sputtered around once the bullet had pierced his body but luckily Edward was far enough away that none of it hit him, which would force him to change clothes.

A piercing screen rang through the room as the man started once again trying to flail around, the LSD doing unspeakable things to his mind.

"Excellent shot," Roman said with a nod, grinning as he watched the flailing and took another puff of his cigar.

Edward put the safety back on the warm gun and twirled it around some, effectively waiting to be dismissed; he had already been away from the office too long.

"I suppose I should let you return back to Cullen," Roman said with a sigh.

Edward let his lips curl back at the mention of the name. Roman saw it and chuckled. "As always, your information is invaluable, Edward. I appreciate you suffering through the mundane world of Corporate America to get it."

"I appreciate that, sir," Edward smirked, starting to head back towards the staircase.

"Oh and Edward?" he said, causing the man to turn over his shoulder in question, "Do not forget that this is how disloyalty meets its end," he said, nodding over to the wailing accountant.

"Of course, sir," he muttered with a nod before climbing up the stairs and moving to exit the house, glancing down at his suit once again to make sure that he had not been stained with any blood.

As soon as Edward stepped foot on the main level of the house, he felt his phone begin to buzz in his pocket. With tremendous irritation, he answered. "Masen."

"Edward, this is Bella calling you," rang a female voice.

"Obviously," he intoned with an eye roll as he moved to exit the apparent horror house.

"Right," she agreed, "I meant to talk to you to today about your performance reviews of some of the newer employees in your division, but you are not here."

"Clearly," he sneered with exasperation as he walked casually over to his car.

"May I ask why you aren't here?" she asked with a decided amount of sass.

"My job requires that I sometimes be out of office and attend to other things…" he answered silkily. "Besides, isn't it HR that always harps on mangers to measure output and not minutes in a seat?"

Bella inhaled sharply and Edward smirked, knowing that he had left her speechless.

Suddenly, a gunshot loudly rang through the air and Edward winced, hoping that it was not loud enough to be heard to the woman on the phone.

"What was that?" she said sharply.

"My God, you ask an insufferable amount of questions," he snapped. "I will be back in the office in an hour to go over the ridiculous performance management appraisals you insist on us filling out, wasting my time and the firm's resources."

"I look forward to it," she retorted angrily.

Edward heard a dial tone in response as he moved into his car.

After entering the Ferrari and pulling the gun out of his pants and tossing it on the floor beside him, he gripped the steering wheel and let out one long sigh before revving the engine and beginning his journey back to Chicago.


	7. Chapter 6

Buckle up folks, here we go again.

* * *

Yesterday, after hanging up the phone with Edward, Bella had promptly rushed down to the IT department and found one of her favorite new employees that she hired last year, Seth.

Bella had grown up with a cop for a father, she knew the sound of a gun.

And Edward had definitely been near gunfire.

Additionally, he had evaded answering any of her questions about his whereabouts for where the sound had come from. Granted, he rarely was fond of giving her straight answers, but this was more than just checking on employees in his division.

"Seth, what I need is strictly confidential, alright?" she had asked. He had looked at her curiously, as so much of their company dealt with confidential information that it seemed odd to him that she was explicitly mentioning it.

"Yes, ma'am," he agreed and then glanced around to make sure no one was around. "What's up?"

"I need to you to trace Edward Masen's company phone and figure out where he just was when I called him. Can you do that?" she asked.

Seth's eyebrows had furrowed together. "Yeah, yeah that shouldn't be a problem I don't think. I've never actually done that before, so it might take me a few minutes."

"That's fine," she said a little breathlessly, her mind still racing as she thought about their conversation.

After watching Seth click and type for a few minutes, he sighed. "Okay this might take me an hour or two," he admitted. "I can let you know when I'm done if you'd like?"

Bella had nodded and then returned back to the 33rd floor.

"Hey Rose," she had asked, "Could you cancel my appointment with Edward Masen in an hour?"

Rosalie looked at her in confusion. "You don't actually have anything officially scheduled with him."

"Yeah I mentioned to him that I wanted to meet with him about his PMs, but I don't have time, so when he gets back into the office, could you-"

"Oh hell, you want me to speak with the man, don't you?" Rosalie accused.

Bella winced. "Just tell him I'll speak with him later about it."

Rosalie glared wildly in response, having previously made her feelings on the man perfectly clear.

"Thank you," she sang a little bit desperately before escaping into her office and once again pulling out Edward's file.

She had become obsessed with the man. She knew something was up with him and while she hadn't been totally sure at first, Carlisle's quick dismissing of any of her suspicions only confirmed what she was thinking.

Bella knew Edward was connected with illegal activities but she didn't know to what extent. But she was not going to stake the entire reputation of the business she had devoted so much of her life to on a snarky and dangerous man. She knew she was going to act, but she didn't know what that looked like yet.

And she also had no idea where Carlisle fell into the mix.

Two hours later, around the time where most of the employees were beginning to finish up their work for the day, or at least start packing up to take it home to finish, Bella got a call from Seth. He offered to come up to her office but she quickly insisted that she go down to the 16th floor. She didn't want anyone to see the IT guy coming in for a visit.

Seth looked a little worse for the wear by the time Bella got down there, but grinned at her triumphantly.

"You find what you were looking for?" she asked.

"Right," he said getting down to business, "So Edward Masen was about an hour south of the city when he answered your phone call at a smaller residence."

"He was just at a house?" she repeated questioningly.

"Well yeah, so I figured you would want to know whose house since you seemed so stressed about it," he said.

"I did not," she snapped.

Seth looked at her with pointedly raised eyebrow.

"Well it wasn't as easy to find the property owner as I thought. In reality, it doesn't seem like anyone actually owns that house."

"How'd you figure it out?" she asked.

"I hacked a few systems," he shrugged.

"Of course," she said drily, remembering that he had graduated top of his class from MIT and they had paid a pretty little signing bonus to get him onboard to do exactly this.

"It's actually owned by that mafia family that's sometimes on the news, the Brigados, or however the hell you pronounce their name."

Bella's breathing stopped.

"Makes sense I guess, since he's on the investigation of them. Seems a little risky to go and blatantly start poking around in their properties, but I bet they never use such a small house anyway," Seth was rambling. "From what I've heard, Masen's a dick but he's good at what he does."

"Right, thanks so much," Bella said some shakily.

Seth apparently did not notice her sudden paleness. "No problem, Bella. I'm heading out now if you don't need anything else."

"No that's all, thanks," she said and turned to leave.

Bella went back up to her office and just collapsed in her chair. She wanted to march over to Edward's office right in that instant, but she also did not want to do that.

The man was dangerous, and she was on her own when it came to him.

And that man could not continue with Cullen Consulting.

There was no way in hell that she would allow him to continue to work for their firm when it was their reputation at risk. If it got out that one of their higher up employees had ties with the God damn mafia, it would be a serious blow to their company that was built on integrity and transparency. It would have ramifications for all of their careers, most especially her in her position in HR.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she had become. Gone was the semi-tender feelings she had had for him the night he showed up bloodied and in pain. She couldn't even remember feeling that, all she felt now was anger.

There were proper channels that went into firing someone. It wasn't as easy as Donald Trump made it appear. There were forms that had to be filled out and legal documentation that was usually required to ensure that all of the correct steps were being taken to prevent the company from any type of lawsuit.

But Bella wasn't thinking of any of that when she called Edward's number.

"Edward," she said as soon as he answered his phone. "I need you to come into the office immediately."

For once, he seemed at a loss for words.

"Conference room B," she snapped before hanging up.

It was 8 o'clock at night and all of the offices on the 33rd floor were empty, save Bella's. Her stomach growled in the realization that she had missed dinner, having gotten so wrapped up in her thoughts.

Conference room B was one of the only rooms in their entire office that wasn't made of glass windows. It was right in the center of the 22nd floor and had been build for discussions that may require a bit of privacy that the glass walls did not always afford. Bella made her way down to the room and then began the process of waiting for Edward to show up. A part of her didn't even believe he would show, but still she waited, pacing the length of the room.

Approximately 20 minutes later, Bella heard the door knob of the conference room open and she took a shaky breath to try and calm her steadily racing heart. Edward opened the door and walked in, immaculately dressed as always in a white dress shirt and navy slacks; it was the first time she had ever actually ever seen him without a suit coat on. He walked in, running a hand through his bronze hair.

Bella stared at him and noted that while he appeared confident, he also seemed more nervous than he had ever seen. She continued to gaze blankly at him with her arms crossed against her chest.

"I was summoned," he finally said drily, nodding at her.

Bella quickly eyed his belt loop and looked to see if she could detect any type of gun that he supposedly always had on him and she saw a slight bulge that was not supposed to be there. Edward didn't miss the movement of her eyes and followed her gaze before shifting so it was out of view.

"What is this about, Ms. Swan?" he said coldly.

"Why don't you have a seat, Mr. Masen?" she suggested, gesturing towards one of the leather chairs.

He crossed his own arms over his chest, mirroring her position. "I prefer to stand," he said challengingly.

"Look, I'm going to put this plainly and give you one chance here," she said firmly.

Edward raised a single eyebrow at her.

"I know all about you, Edward Masen. You have one day to submit your own letter of resignation and sign a nondisclosure agreement and I will not say a word."

Edward stared at her coolly. Bella did not shrink from his stare and instead met it with a glare of her own as she kept her arms crossed in front of her. The silence in the room was so thick it felt suffocating.

"And what is it that you think you know?" he asked finally.

"You're a mobster," she said flatly. "And you have no business being in this company. You belong in police custody, not in an office on the 33rd floor."

It was the only conclusion she had been able to reach and while nothing officially confirmed it, she figured the man in front of her would be able to do that.

Edward blinked.

"And what led you to that conclusion?"

Bella breathed in and out through her nose.

"I know where you were this afternoon, and I know who owns that property," she accused, deciding to start there. She was confident in her conclusion and remained so as she stared at him

For a split second, Bella said Edward's eyes widen before he cleared his face to nothing but quiet anger.

"You tracked me," he accused.

"You answered your company issued cell phone," she returned angrily.

"So you deliberately called me to see where I was? And just made up some bullshit excuse?" he snapped.

"I didn't deliberately do anything, but when I heard a God damn gun shot, you bet I searched you!" she spat.

Edward glared fiercely at her. "That is completely u-"

"No, don't you dare make me the one who has acted wrongly, don't you fucking dare," she seethed.

For the second time that evening, Edward appeared at a loss for words.

"Not to mention the fact that you regularly have a gun on you and you frequent Bite to conduct only God knows what type of illegal shit," she continued accusingly.

"How do you know…" he trailed off and then went deadly silent. "You had me followed."

Bella didn't deny anything.

"Of fucking course you did," he spat, beginning to pace, "Of fucking course you did," he repeated angrily.

Bella watched him pace, suddenly wary as he started to grow angrier with every step.

"Why not just fire me as soon as you thought something was up? Last time I checked, there's still employment at will in this fucking country. Why the fuck would you have me followed?!" he exclaimed getting closer to her as he spoke angrily. "Why would you get involved in fucking any of this if you thought I had ties to an illegal crime organization? Why the fuck did you think that was a good idea?! Or it seems more like that you actually were not thinking at all!"

His words were met with a slap alongside the face from Bella.

Bella pulled her hand back and felt the stinging sensation that she had never experienced, having never struck anyone in her life.

"This is not my God damn fault and don't even try. I asked you if you were in danger, I worried about you days after you were no longer bleeding. I spent hours trying to figure out what the hell was the problem, only to find that you're part of a gang, and you're a fucking criminal!"

During her tyrant, fear had started to creep into Bella's mind as she saw the darkness in his face and when she finished speaking her gaze automatically went to his backside where she knew his gun was and felt her stomach drop.

Edward watched the movement and subsequent face that Bella had been unable to stop herself from making. Some of his anger seemed to deflate as he let out a sigh while running his hand once again through his hair.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Swan," he said, eyeing her warily.

The two of them were silent once again, Bella's breath slightly labored from her heated speech. She eyed the angry red mark that was beginning to show and thought instantly back to when she had been the one tending his face.

"Look," he said finally, voice still cool but with less acid. "You should have just fired me earlier. You had no business digging in those things; you have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, nor the danger you could have placed yourself in. You should have just terminated my employment."

"Then quit," she said simply. "You cannot be employed here and have ties with them. I'll give you 12 hours to submit a letter of resignation. If not, I'll be forced to terminate you, open up an internal investigation of everything you've done in this company for past six years and then report you to the police."

Edward once again let out a defeated breath and then ran his hands through his thick bronze hair. Bella stared at him, feeling a pang of regret at seeing how defeated he looked; so unlike the Edward that everyone knew, interacted with, and hated. It didn't make sense that she felt sympathetic for a criminal, but she couldn't stop herself.

"Go talk to Carlisle," he finally said. "Go talk to him tonight, and if you still demand my resignation, I will have it on your desk in the morning."

Without another word, Edward Masen, asshole of the 33rd floor, turned on his heel and left the conference room.

* * *

Confused, distressed, and still stupidly hungry, Bella quickly made her way over to the 33rd floor and walked over to Carlisle's office to see if he was there, even though she very much doubted it.

Much to her great surprise, Carlisle Cullen was sitting at his desk, typing speedily on his laptop with a bit of a scowl on his face. Upon hearing her approach, he looked up and smiled warmly at her.

"Bella!" he greeted, moving to click a couple things on his laptop, "I was just finishing up this shareholder report before the board meeting tomorrow, since Esme had other things tonight and won't give me too hard of a time for working late," he explained with a wink.

When Bella didn't immediately respond he looked up at her closer. Her face was pale and she looked like she had just seen a ghost. "Bella, what's wrong?" he asked instantly.

"Edward Masen is part of the mafia," she said warily after a long breath. "The Brigados."

Carlisle let out his own breath and his shoulders seemed to slump.

"I know."

Bella's mouth fell open.

Her mind started racing at what seemed like 700 miles per minute as she stared at Carlisle in shock.

"You _know_?" she repeated back slowly, her stomach in knots.

"Bella, sit down, please," he said warily, rubbing a hand over his face.

Once she sat down on the chair with just as much wariness, she looked at him blankly. "Start talking."

Carlisle sighed. "There was talks of an Investigation and Specialized Crime division years before it became a reality," he explained. "And we knew that with such a drastic change from our usual business model, we would have to approach cases and consultations much differently."

"We hired Edward about a year before you and still a couple years before we officially launched ISC," he continued. "At the time, I was already thinking of what kind of people we would need for these positions, especially since the Chicago PD had reached out to me already about a possible ISC unit. I anticipated that they would be one of our first clients once it did launch, and they would request help with the crime organizations that they had hit wall after wall on.

"Edward was young and unattached. He had no living parents or siblings and no relatives whom he was in contact with. Both Esme and I could tell early on in the interview process that he was a loner. And he was good; the man is incredibly smart and gifted and has a talent of remaining calm under pressure. He was perfect for a position I was envisioning creating. Until then, I started him just in consulting and had him do about a year of that, and I watched him closely and was impressed with everything I saw."

At this point in Carlisle's tale, Bella's heart was starting to sink.

"So I approached him about undercover work, and told him about the new division and filled him in on all of the plans. I offered him off the books bonuses and with little convincing, he agreed. Somehow he managed to prove his usefulness to the Brigado family by offering his position at our firm as a way of getting them information and he has been used on an as needed basis by Brigado since the ISC division officially launched."

"He's a double agent?" Bella asked flatly.

"Yes."

"I cannot believe you," Bella said, gazing harshly at her mentor. "I cannot believe you thought it was okay to place a human being, one of your employees who you claim to care so much about, in that much danger."

"Bella," Carlisle said with a sigh.

"No," she said, pushing abruptly out of her chair. "That crossed a line. Not to mention the fact that you are playing with so much fire and that all of this consists on Edward's ability to remain loyal to this firm, under God knows what type of treatment! That's not okay, Carlisle."

Carlisle just shook his head. Bella knew she likely shouldn't push further at the CEO, even despite their friendly relationship, but she couldn't help herself.

"You didn't see him that night!" she exclaimed, "You let him get beat and be placed in constant danger for what? For better margins in the ISC? For being potentially known as the consulting firm that brought down the God damn mafia? For what? What is worth him risking his life for?"

Bella didn't realize that in the course of a short hour, she had gone from shouting at the man in question and threatening to put him in jail, to defending him to the point where she could feel tears threatening to prick her eyes.

"He wanted to, Bella," Carlisle eventually replied. "He knew what he was getting into, and he was okay with it."

Bella just shook her head, enraged at the man in front of her. She turned on her heel to storm out of the office when he stopped her.

"Wait, Bella," Carlisle said. "You cannot tell anyone of this information. No one else knows, and if anything gets out, Edward's life will be in jeopardy. Be mad at me all you want, but please do not say a word of it."

Bella shook her head again absolutely seething that Edward's life was being used.

"And Bella?" he added, "Now that you know, perhaps you could help him or just be there for him if need be."

Bella nodded and then strode angrily out of the office.

The moment she understood, there was not a doubt in her mind that she was going to help him.

* * *

One of my favorite chapters and I hope you enjoyed it too. As always, let me know your thoughts and theories.

To my lovely American friends: please make sure you are voting on Tuesday, and not just voting to vote, but voting with an informed mind.

All of my love to you all.


	8. Chapter 7

Bella took a sip of her coffee that was steaming out of its mug as she looked out the glass windows and watched as the sun began to rise over the city of Chicago. She briefly thought about Apollo pulling his chariot to bring the sun across the sky and smiled a little bit to herself. Her office didn't have this beautiful of a view in the morning; she got views of the sunset on the other side of the building.

It was still relatively quiet in the office, with just a few people having already arrived and started working.

Edward's office was just a little bit smaller than hers, but otherwise it was relatively similar in the furniture it housed. His desk faced the glass walls and when he sat, his back would be to the sky. That made Bella furrow her eyebrows slightly as she realized that he wouldn't even be able to see the beautiful views while he worked. Instead, he had views of the office and everyone who walked by.

Bella imagined the snarls anyone who dared to glance into his office received.

There were a few books scattered on the bookshelves but otherwise his office was devoid of any personal artifacts beside his university diploma. There were no pictures proudly displayed in frames nor were there any trinkets of any sort.

Edward Masen appeared to be a minimalist in not only friends but also personal affects.

Bella had arrived at the office far earlier than she was usually in. She had not slept very well last night and had tossed and turned for most of the evening, the conversations she had with Edward and Carlisle running constantly through her head. It was her hope that she would be able to catch him before he turned in any type of resignation or drew any attention to himself.

It felt surreal that she was in the middle of this, especially since she had always regarded the mafia as a myth that had not survived into the 21st century and she was incredibly unsettled to learn that she had been incorrect.

She continued to sip her coffee as she waited for him to arrive. If he had had more personal items in his office, perhaps she would have felt like she was overstepping her boundaries, but since he didn't, she felt less intrusive in just sitting there and waiting for him.

It was only about another 20 minutes of Bella gazing at the sunrise before she heard footsteps enter the office behind her. Bella didn't immediately turn in the arm chair she was sitting in. She heard a surprisingly soft sigh as the footsteps briefly stopped.

"Now you're searching my office?" Edward finally said warily as he stepped into view, giving her an undecipherable stare.

Edward was dressed to a T as usual, she noted. He was wearing a well fitted, expensive looking, black suit with a skinny black tie hanging over his white dress shirt. His hair was as untamed as it usually was, and he looked just as tired as she felt.

"No," Bella corrected both gently and stubbornly, "I was waiting for you."

Edward narrowed his eyes as he sat down at the chair behind his desk. "You've come to personally collect my resignation, then?" he asked sourly.

Bella let out a sigh of her own, fighting the urge to stall and take a sip of her coffee.

"I've come to apologize, actually."

Edward raised his eyebrows in what Bella assumed was mockingly. "Indeed?"

"I spoke with Carlisle," she replied.

"He told you the whole story then?" Edward said coolly.

Bella nodded.

When Edward just continued to stare at her, Bella let out another breath. "And I'm sorry," she said again. She wasn't sure if she was apologizing for verbally attacking him or for the situation he was currently in, or if it was both.

Edward shifted in his seat, seemingly uncomfortable with the apology.

"Yes, well…" he trailed off, looking annoyed. "It is appreciated," he finally ground out.

"And I'm really so sorry and embarrassed that I hit you," Bella said, lowering her eyes in shame.

Again, Edward looked horribly uncomfortable.

"It's hardly the first time I've been struck," he dismissed.

Bella raised her eyes to look at him in small horror, realizing that she had only added to the abuse she was sure he experienced in his other…position.

Edward cleared his throat uncomfortably and stiffened his position.

"No one can know," he said firmly. "This knowledge now lies between myself, Carlisle and you and not a single person can know. I regret that you did not leave well enough alone and that you are now sworn to secrecy as well. No one; not your secretary, or Brandon or Whitlock, or anyone else."

Bella gave a nod of her own. "Of course not, Edward," she chose to respond softly and not further aggravate him.

Edward nodded stiffly and fell silent. He inhaled and exhaled through his nose as Bella gazed at his stone cold face.

"Do not ever pull that stunt you pulled with Marcus, again," he said sharply.

Bella's eyes widened slightly. "How do you know about that?"

Edward gave a chuckle that lacked any humor. "There are new things that happen in this division that escape my knowledge."

She looked at him thoughtfully before agreeing. "I won't use your name again."

Edward looked at her fiercely. "Stop using your own name as well."

"Why my name?" she asked in confusion.

Edward just shook his head and let out a frustrated breath, running his hand angrily through his hair as he appeared like he was trying to calm himself.

"I'm involved with dangerous people," he finally said. "And now that you know about that, it is unwise to have relatively competent people digging up all of the information they can about you now that you have this knowledge."

Bella kept her mouth sealed as she thought about how paranoid he sounded but nodded in agreement once again.

The two of them sat in silence for a minute before Edward let out an annoyed breath.

"If you're not going to terminate my employment, is there anything else you needed or may I return to work?" he asked scathingly.

"Now that I do know," Bella finally said, "If you ever need anything at all…well, let me know," she offered awkwardly.

Edward continued to stare at her.

"Your concern is touching," he said flatly, making her feel as if it really wasn't that touching to him at all. "But I assure you that I've managed exceptionally fine on my own and I have no need for you to mother me, nor do I want your pity, do you understand?"

"I wasn't going to mother yo- never mind," she snapped mostly to herself before giving Edward an equally cool nod, trying not to let his words embarrass her like she was sure he wanted them to.

"Very well," she said standing from her chair, "I'll let you get on with your day then."

Edward gave her a sharp nod, eyeing her once again with wariness.

Bella remembered something and then winced. The movement did not go unnoticed by Edward.

"What now, Swan?" he sighed in irritation.

"I know this probably isn't the time, but I really do need to do the performance reviews with the ISC division in the next two weeks or I'll get behind schedule," she said with a grimace.

It looked like she gave him an instant headache with her words. He pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Of course," dryly.

Bella continued out of the office, wanting to say more (to say what, she was unsure) but knew that it had probably been a great enough effort for him to be civil, she thought it was best not to push him any further.

The next few days at work consisted of Bella spending a lot of time watching Edward.

It was creepy as hell, but she figured she was already past that after so much time of obsessing already.

What interested her most was how he interacted with his subordinates. Apparently, with his work in espionage had come a promotion from Carlisle. Edward was now a partner and Director of Domestic Affairs within the Investigation and Specialized Crime division, overseeing any case that did not have international ties. As such, he had several people, some younger some older, who reported directly to him.

Edward eventually got her the performance reviews in writing of 12 employees directly under him. She scanned through them over and over again and discovered that the man did not pay direct compliments often.

 _Mrs. Hampshire shows an adequate level of concern when collaborating with others._

 _Mr. Weber consistently produces work in an amount of time that exceeds expectations._

 _Mr. Hibbing's consultations with various justice departments are sufficient._

Some managers would just scribble down that their employee was a team player and did well with XYZ type of cases. Not Edward Masen apparently.

What surprised Bella the most, however, was the fact that he didn't receive poor reviews from his subordinates on any of their employee satisfaction surveys. In fact, he received actually kind of favorable ones, calling him fair and competent. No one wrote that he was friendly or even approachable, but they did seem to respect his authority and generally all of them felt that he cared about their successes.

It was actually kind of shocking.

Edward conducted his own mandated performance reviews in the glass walled conference room across the hall from Bella's office and she felt her gaze being constantly pulled in that direction while he conversed with different employees. She couldn't hear what they were saying behind the glass doors but she did watch their expressions without even realizing it.

For the most part, the employees he was conversing with did not seem frightened to be sitting in the same room as him. They usually just nodded a lot while he spoke and then seemed to converse freely with him in response. Edward, in turn, donned his usual cold expression as he spoke, but there were hardly any sardonic eyebrow raises or snarls that she was accustomed to seeing from him. Instead he would also nod as they spoke, and while he didn't smile that Bella saw, he didn't seem as agitated as she would have anticipated. In fact, his shoulders lacked their usual stiffness throughout his conversations with most of his employees.

At one point during that day, Rosalie slipped into Bella's office to deliver a file when she saw what Bella was staring at. "Oh, I know, I've been keeping an eye on all of them too lest those poor employees start crying like what usually happens when people talk to the jackass."

Bella winced but kept her face neutral.

"No tears then?" she asked, taking the file out of the blonde's hand.

Rosalie shook her head, appearing surprised. "Not yet, anyway."

"Oh Rose!" Bella remembered suddenly as the blonde turned to had back to her own desk, "What are you doing this Sunday afternoon?"

Rosalie raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow. "I don't know, why?"

"You should come with me to the Cullen's for dinner," she said nonchalantly.

"Isn't that kind of you 4's thing?" she asked doubtfully.

"Esme asked me to invite you," Bella answered.

Rosalie's eyes widened a little, and Bella didn't necessarily blame her. They were kind of a little bit of a clique between the four of them and no one else had ever joined them in any of their dinners or activities.

"Why me?" Rose asked.

Bella shrugged, once again attempting to appear nonchalant. "She likes you."

"Well shit," Rose finally said, "I don't know what the hell you wear to a family barbeque with one of the country's most popular CEOs."

Bella chuckled, "It'll be fun."

Rosalie rolled her eyes but left Bella's office, seeming just a little nervous for the first time that Bella could remember. Bella figured she probably shouldn't add that the dinner was also meant as a set-up between Rosalie and Emmett at Esme's insistence and neither of their knowledge.

The next morning, heavy rain descended upon Chicago and Bella noticed that all of the office seemed a little bit grumpier with the lack of sunshine.

Bella passed by Edward's office on her way back from the rest rooms in the morning and saw through the glass window that he allowed himself to let his head fall into his hands and he was rubbing his face tiredly before straightening up with an inaudible sigh. Bella felt like she had just intruded on his privacy and quickly turned her head away before he could see that she had been watching him

Before she knew it, she was back on her way down the elevator with her wallet and umbrella in her hand. She darted across the street in the rain to the Starbucks that was located there and rushed in before getting too wet. She stared up at the menu for a minute or two, unsure of what type of coffee the spy would even consider drinking before she ordered two hot beverages.

Carrying them back across the street and up to the 33rd floor took a little bit more time. She took the long way to her office, not passing Edward's. Luckily Rosalie was in a staff meeting so she was not at her desk to give Bella a pointed raised eyebrow like she so often did. She set down her umbrella before straightening her blouse and pencil skirt and calmly walking towards Edward's office.

The office was empty and taking advantage of that fact, Bella hustled to place the black coffee on his desk and then rush back out before he caught her once again loitering in his space. Fortunately, there was no sign of Edward and Bella calmly walked back to her own office with her own coffee in hand.

Alice saw her through the wall of her own office and then waved her in enthusiastically.

"Bella!" she sang happily as the brunette entered the room. Of course Alice was the only human in the office unaffected by the gross weather. "According to previous almanacs, the wedding date is supposed to be 80 and cloudless!"

The HR Director listened as her friend went on about the benefits of a warm day but also lamented the fact that pictures turn out better when the sun is behind clouds, never mind the fact that this was hardly the forecast for their wedding date whatsoever. During the course of their conversation, Bella's eyes wandered over to Edward's office when she saw the man enter it.

She watched as he stared down at the cup of coffee in confusion and then straightened and looked around the space, his eyes scanning the area like a hawk. When his eyes landed on her, she raised her own matching cup with a grin and watched as he narrowed his eyes in response.

Bella fought back a giggle as she watched him hesitantly pick up the cup and sniff it suspiciously before taking a sip out of it and closing his eyes for a brief second at the taste. She averted her eyes back to a still rambling Alice before he caught her staring at him again.

At the end of the week, after asking Rosalie to handle one of the more mundane parts of her jobs, Bella realized that Edward was one of the only people on the 33rd floor who did not have a secretary. Bella had gapped to herself at the realization. How the hell did he handle working for two contrasting employers, one dangerous and one just stupid in Bella's opinion, without any type of assistance? No wonder the man was tired; he was doing the work of two people without any help whatsoever.

Without another thought, Bella had marched to Carlisle's office for the first time since their last conversation about Edward which had ended with her shouting at him. She had not spoken to him since and was still angry at what she thought of as an incredibly reckless decision on his part to place Edward in danger. He was at his bookshelf, returning a volume to its proper place when he turned to see her enter.

"Why the hell does Edward not have a secretary?" she demanded without a greeting.

Upon recognizing her still simmering anger, Carlisle's eyes lost a little bit of twinkle. "He never expressed an interest," he answered.

"Get him one."

Carlisle opened his mouth to speak but Bella cut him off. "I don't care if he doesn't want one; get him one."

With a resigned sigh, Carlisle nodded.

Bella turned on her heel and left the office without another word to her boss. While he was one of the best CEOs in the country, her mentor was currently _not_ her favorite person.

The long week ended with a bang, just like Bella figured it would.

Emmett barged into her office on that Friday afternoon and Bella could immediately see that he was furious. Bella braced herself for whatever his current problem was, hoping it was just an Emmett overreaction and would not require too much of her aide.

"I want that fucker gone!" Emmett raged.

Bella sighed, "Which fucker?"

"That Masen asshole!" Emmett all but shouted. Bella's eyes widened in response as she glanced to see if he had shut the door behind him or not.

"Emmett, just take a breath," she said calmly. "What happened?"

"He put one of my interns on probation!" Emmett exclaimed, slamming down some papers on her desk.

"Why?" Bella asked, starting to gather the papers he had just placed in front of her.

"Who the hell cares why?" Emmett asked angrily. "Who the fuck does he think he is? He doesn't have the authority to do that with MY team!"

Bella read through the probationary form that Edward had filled out and read his scathing comments about one of the interns who had he apparently witnessed chatting cordially about the details of one of the more sensitive cases the ISC division was currently working on. The phrase "complete disregard for confidentiality" had been followed by "an alarmingly low awareness of the way the world works," and Bella almost chuckled.

Before Bella could open her mouth to say anything, Emmett was continuing on his rant. "You don't just get to fuck with my people!" he was saying. "If you have a problem with one of them, you come to me. That's common courtesy! That's respect! _That's_ how the world works! And apparently this Masen fuck has none of those things!"

"Emmett!" she finally said, breaking him out of his pacing. "He's right."

That was clearly not the response Emmett had been expecting.

"According to this report, your intern was acting completely unprofessionally and disciplinary action should be taken."

Emmett blinked at her, completely taken aback by not having her agree with him.

"He's just a kid!" Emmett exclaimed. Bella guessed that this might be one of the interns hailing from Emmett's esteemed alma matter, as he seemed quite protective of him.

"He should have known better," Bella said. "I don't think Ed-Masen was trying to offend you. The ISC division operates a lot differently than a lot of our other units and confidentiality is even more imperative for their clients."

Emmett just stared at her in shock. "Why are you defending that douche?"

"He was right to do what he did, even if he could have gone about it in a different manner," she replied softly. "I'm afraid the probation will have to stand."

Emmett just shook his head in disbelief and then left her office without another word, though she could have sworn she heard him mutter, "Whatever, Bella."

Bella winced as she realized she had just sided with the most unfriendly jerk on staff instead of one of her best friends.

Damn Edward Masen, she thought ruefully to herself. Damn him.

* * *

thanks for all of your kind reviews, they warm my soul.


	9. Chapter 8

It was 5 o'clock on that Friday and Bella was exhausted from her week. Finding out about Edward's position still left her head reeling. It was difficult to grasp that he was an undercover agent in the mafia who did not know his true loyalties and expected him to give them information that Cullen Consulting had on their crime organization.

To Bella that was all absolutely mind boggling and she didn't understand how he kept his head straight. Since she had found out, she had made it her mission to be kinder to him, since his snarls and glares prevented anyone else from trying. It was just little things, like smiling when she saw him, getting him the occasional coffee, not harassing him on his performance reviews or other things that didn't need immediate attention. She hoped it made his life even just slightly easier.

And she also insisted that Carlisle get him a secretary to help with some of the more mundane aspects of his job.

It was this insistence that landed an angry Edward Masen in her office right before she left the building for the weekend.

Rosalie had gone home an hour before and so he stormed in without any type of defense. Bella looked up from her computer and jumped when she saw him and then grew both worried and annoyed seeing his angry face just hours after she had just defended him to Emmett.

"What the hell is your problem?" he demanded, getting in front of her desk, jaw clenched and eyes blazing with anger.

Bella eyed him warily. "You know it is possible to start a conversation in different way than that."

"Well if you'd stop interfering in my life than maybe I wouldn't have to," he sneered.

"What did I do now?" she asked

"There is currently a red frizzy haired woman demanding to see my schedule for the next three weeks and rummaging through all of my personal files!" he snapped agitatedly.

Bella bit her lip. She could see he was clearly upset and she had originally expected his resistance to be more amusing than chastising and she could see that she may have miscalculated. "I see you were assigned Arlene."

"Arlene can get the hell out of my things!" he hissed angrily.

"She's one of the best secretaries we have on staff," Bella explained softly. "She doesn't miss anything."

"And why do I now suddenly have a secretary?" he demanded crossly.

"Because you need one," Bella replied simply, trying to stick to her earlier conviction even in the face of his protest.

"Says who?" he challenged. He was mad and Bella could so clearly see it.

"Look," she said, ignoring his question, "All of the partners have one, you are now a partner…you should have a secretary."

Edward closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as he gritted his teeth together. "And tell me, has whoever deemed it suddenly necessary that I have assistance considered the fact that I often have to leave work for non, shall we say, legal practices?"

"Well I told Carlisle that I think you should have someone to-"

"Swan, for all of your faults, I did not truly think arrogance was one of them," he snarled. "Yet clearly I was sorely mistaken. Who are you to say what I can and cannot handle and who the hell do you think you are to make demands on my behalf? How truly entitled you are."

For the first time in his tirade, Bella felt properly chastised.

"I just thought-" she tried to say but he cut her off with a glare.

"Your presumptions can be more dangerous than you are aware," he said darkly. "And the more careless you continue to act, the more dangerous they are."

Bella lowered her eyes with a sigh. "She's been told that you have leave to work wherever you like and often will leave the office for a variety of reasons that are confidential to your work," she finally said, answering his original question.

Edward just paused for a moment, staring her down with unobstructed anger in his eyes. Bella could count the number of times she was intimidated on one hand, but looking at Edward and seeing his anger which was directed completely and utterly at her, she was intimidated. She could see his power and how much power he drew from his anger and she finally saw what everyone else saw when talked to him.

"Stop trying to help me, Swan," he finally said, staring at her emotionlessly. "Please," he added with an unfriendly sneer.

* * *

It was a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon in May and the Cullen clan found themselves outside enjoying a well grilled meal once again, this time with the addition of a beautiful blonde woman.

Bella was sitting on Esme's left and on Jasper's right, quietly enjoying her meal as she watched the boisterous people around her. She had broken out one of her favorite blue sundresses and was beginning the process of getting a slight tan for Alice and Jasper's upcoming wedding that she would be the Maid of Honor for. There was a slight breeze and the distinct smell of summer that was tickling her nose.

Rosalie and Emmett were sitting across the table from her and Bella watched them from behind the protection of her sunglasses. Bella had picked Rose up at her apartment on the way out of the city and on the brief drive to the Cullen's house, the blonde had figured out the intentions behind the invite she received.

"So it's usually just you six there," she had been saying, "And that's how Alice and Jasper spent so much time together initially. So that leaves everyone paired up except for you and Emmett…how did that never happen?"

Before Bella could say another word, however, Rosalie had continued in her musings. "Yeah, I know you guys are just not each other's type. I bet Esme was probably disappointed in that…I feel like sometimes she just stops in and hangs out around the office in order to play matchmaker with some of the consultant- oh you're joking me. That's why I'm going isn't it? Esme fricken Cullen is trying to set me up with the prodigal son that isn't even hers!"

Instead of denying it, Bella had cleared her throat while keeping her eyes on the road and said, "Well, if you ask me, Jasper's really the prodigal son."

"Bella!" she had roared.

However, after Emmett had seen her in her casual red sundress and hair down, two things that were not typical for Rosalie at the office, it was like he was meeting a whole new person. Actually, it was like the idea had never occurred to him to make a pass at Bella's secretary and now that she was in front of him in a different setting, he was immediately smitten. They'd been happily talking ever since, Rosalie having only shot Bella one annoyed glance right at the beginning of the afternoon.

As Bella continued to eat her food and try not to muse about how it looked like she was suddenly the odd man out, she watched the other members of their little clan.

Alice and Carlisle were heatedly in a debate about just what actually constituted as a "Power Ballad." Carlisle vehemently felt that the Scorpion's "No One Like You," counted while Alice was mostly just insisting that only Journey's classics really were worthy of the title. Jasper was chiming in occasionally, but mostly as Devil's Advocate to rile them both further up. Emmett was talking animatedly to Rosalie about the last time him, Jasper, and Carlisle went deep sea fishing and Rose seemed to be eating up every word he said, comfortably seated next to him. Esme had her watchful eye on the two latest to suffer from her matchmaking, but would occasionally chime in to the other conversation as well.

"If you weren't alive during the majority of the 80's, you don't get an opinion," Carlisle was concluding, sticking a piece of steak in his mouth after supposedly ending the argument.

Alice huffed. "That's ageist! I have ears and I can hear music, and I get an opinion," she said. "And my opinion is that you are wrong."

Jasper rolled his eyes at his fiancé.

"I just think you're wrong," Carlisle said with a shake of his head.

Esme interjected before they could start back up again. "So lovebirds! Have all of the RSVP's for the wedding come in?"

Bella smirked when she saw not only Jasper and Alice perk up, but Emmett and Rosalie as well. _That really was quick._

"Not quite."

"No!" Alice exclaimed scornfully, talking over Jasper's much more diplomatic answer. "It's only slightly driving me crazy because the caterers keep asking for numbers and I just don't have them!"

"It seems some of Alice's cousins and a few partners are a little slower in their responses," Jasper elaborated, throwing his arm around Alice's chair as he leaned back comfortably.

"The partners?" Rosalie asked, joining the conversation. Bella watched as Emmett repeated the same motion Jasper had just done, throwing his arm casually behind Rosalie, resting on the back of her chair.

Alice let out a hefty sigh. "We invited all of the partners and execs from the firm."

"And despite that display of enthusiasm, we actually are thrilled that a lot of them will be coming," Jasper said with an easy grin and a wink at Alice. Alice rolled her eyes and shook her head in response.

"You invited them all?" Bella asked in confusion, not willing her eyes to drift over to Carlisle.

"Even that Masen dick?" Emmett interjected before either one of them could answer.

Jasper took a sip of his drink. "Masen too," he said after swallowing. Alice made a face to herself, squishing up her nose and grimacing, making it clear that it had not been her idea to extend the invitation.

Again, Bella kept her gaze firmly away from Carlisle's direction.

While it seemed that Emmett had dropped the incident with Edward putting one of his interns on probation on Friday, Bella wasn't sure she wanted to push her luck and really see if he was no longer upset with her. Joining in on this particular conversation seemed like an all around bad idea, so Bella became particularly interested in her sliced strawberries.

"And is he going?" Emmett asked with a groan. "You can't tell me the guy is one for celebrating eternal love."

There were snorts of agreements from Rosalie and Alice.

"Hell if I know," Jasper shrugged. For some reason, Bella wasn't necessarily sure she believed his nonchalance.

"Has Emmett RSVP'd yet?" Esme asked, once again interjecting before the conversation could turn sour at the mention or the surly ISC employee.

Alice narrowed his eyes at the big guy sitting across from her who had been staring the blonde next to him. "No!" she exclaimed.

"Well why the hell do I need to RSVP to the wedding that I'm Goddamn in?" he exclaimed in defense.

"It's just what you do," Alice huffed. "So as of right now, you and your plus one will not have food."

"I get a plus one?" he asked in surprised while Jasper chuckled.

Alice nodded.

Emmett looked over at Rosalie and then gave her a big smile that had Bella almost smiling herself. "What are you doing June 17th?" he asked with her.

"I sent my RSVP in weeks ago," Rose said with an uncharacteristic giggle.

"Looks like I won't be needing that plus one then," Emmett reported with a smirk to Jasper and Alice. The latter rolled her eyes but Bella could see that she seemed a little delighted at the match.

"You still have to get it back to me," Alice said, returning to her meal.

Esme was positively beaming after the little exchange and Bella saw Carlisle chuckle and shake his head to himself at his wife's antics.

The rest of the dinner passed much the same as it usually did, with much laughter and beer. Bella was quieter than usual this dinner because of her latest arguments with both Carlisle and Emmett, but she enjoyed herself nevertheless. After dinner was over and Carlisle moved to go along on a tour of the place with Rosalie and Emmett while Alice and Jasper trailed haphazardly behind, Bella helped Esme with dishes as she always seemed to. Bella rolled her eyes to herself; they really were their own little family.

Esme had noticed Bella's silence and respected it for the most part and the two worked in companionable silence, rinsing dishes and then putting them in the dishwasher. Finally, the older woman sighed. "You can forgive him, Bella," she said softly.

"Who?" Bella asked startled.

"My husband," Esme said with a small smile.

Bella let out a sigh of her own. "You know?"

"I know you guys are in the middle of an argument," Esme replied coyly, leaving Bella briefly confused on the depth of her knowledge on Edward.

"Yeah," Bella said tiredly, "But I'm not quite ready to forgive him yet. I just think about it and get mad," she admitted.

Esme gave a little laugh, continuing to rinse a plate. "And that's okay. Carlisle has that effect on some people."

Bella recognized her attempt to find humor in the situation and gave a slight snort in response. Many loved Carlisle but the man could also be stubborn as a horse.

"He's on your side, Bella," she said after a moment's pause, "He always has been."

The younger woman sighed again. Carlisle truly had always been there for her and been incredibly involved in her professional and personal development. He had seen potential in her, mentored her, advocated for her and given her a second family while hers was thousands of miles away.

"I know," Bella said softly.

Esme surprised her by putting her arm around the younger woman's shoulders and hugging her close to her. She gave her a decidedly motherly kiss on the head and rested her head against hers for a second. Bella's shoulders relaxed under the embrace and she leaned against the woman who now felt like such a mom to her, taking in a deep breath.

"Thank you," she said when Esme finally moved away.

"You're welcome," the older woman said, returning to the sink with a smile. "Now, how the hell do you always end up doing the dishes?"

* * *

Later that week, Bella could be found asleep on the couch in her office.

And in hindsight, she had not meant to fall asleep.

It had been a combination of a few things, in Bella's opinion. It was both the fact that the couch she had been provided was entirely too comfortable as well as the fact that it was raining and looked generally unappealing outside that had made her just lie down on it in the first place. People had left the office by the time she was done working, and it was a Friday night and she had no where to be, so she figured a nap would not hurt anyone. She had not made plans with anyone and she had no boyfriend or husband wondering where she was.

So when she fell asleep on the couch, she slept for a lot longer than the 20 minute cap nap she had been planning to take before the commute home.

By the time she woke up in her office, it was almost completely pitch black.

Bella awoke with a start, blinking away the sleep from her eyes as she grasped the lateness of the hour. She felt groggy as she looked around for her phone which was placed on a nearby end table.

"Oh shit," she muttered when she found it.

It was well past midnight.

"Some Friday night…" she mumbled to herself as she rubbed some of the sleep out of her eyes. For a brief moment, she considered staying the night in the office and then quickly decided against it. This was not college, she chided herself, she had a house. Bella stretched out a little bit before pushing herself off of the warm couch and going about gathering her stuff.

As she would expect, the 33rd floor was deserted. Everyone had gone home hours ago and only the low lights illuminated the darkened office space. It was a little unnerving and Bella did not want to linger in the vacant space, even if it was her second home.

The only person she ran into was a janitor. He was standing outside the men's bathroom, his weight leaning on a broom as he gazed at the door in what looked like deep thought. She recognized the older gentleman and gave him a warm smile. "Hi Jerry!"

"Hello Ms. Swan," he said, flashing her a tight grin.

"How's it going?" she asked politely.

Jerry hesitated for a moment as if he was unsure how much to say in response. Bella paused midstep, not expecting there to be a hesitation on his part. "I'm just waiting for the bathroom to be empty to clean."

"Who is in it?" she asked in surprise. Why the hell would anyone else be here at this hour?

Jerry looked uncomfortable. "I'm not sure, ma'am. I did see Mr. Masen come up a little bit ago…" he said.

Bella's stomach immediately knotted. "Oh?" she asked, trying to keep her voice light.

Jerry nodded.

Bella swallowed nervously. "Well, Jerry, you have my permission to skip this bathroom for the night. Go home," she said kindly.

Jerry looked torn and leveled another stare at the door. Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Bella, Jerry gave her a slow nod. "Alright, ma'am."

Bella gave him a weak smile and then watched as he slowly departed, making his way to the elevator. Bella counted to ten mentally and took a deep breath before pushing open the door and entering the space. The motion sensor lights that had dimmed to darkness flickered to life upon her entrance as she took a step in.

She found Edward.

He was sitting on the floor with his knees drawn loosely to his chest, his arms extended slightly and resting on the bent joints. His head was down but snapped up like a hawk as the lights blinked on.

Bella almost gasped.

Edward looked paler than she had ever seen. His skin was the same shade of white as the dress shirt he had on and unbuttoned slightly. There was a sheen layer of sweat on his forehead and his eyes were red rimmed and his irises cloudy. She had never before seen him so uncomposed.

In registering the sight of her, Edward's lips formed up into a sneer.

He stared at her for an undeterminable amount of time and Bella remained frozen under his gaze. Even her thoughts were frozen as his gaze pierced through her. Finally, he shook his head in disgust and lowered his head down.

"It's a cruel mind I've been cursed with."

Bella's brows furrowed in confusion at his mumblings. She let out a short gasp of air as she stared at him. In the silence and in the stillness, she could see a faint tremor of his limbs and realized with a start that his body was shaking ever so slightly. As she processed the source of these tremblings, Edward looked back up at her.

His gaze was haunting.

"You're not really here."

Bella's brow furrowed even deeper.

"Yes, I am," she replied slowly.

Her mouth felt dry and she swallowed audibly.

Edward's eyes narrowed and for a moment, he glared at her.

"Not even in my torments am I allowed any peace…" he muttered angrily. He ran his hand shakily through his disheveled hair and then lowered his face to rest into his hand.

Bella was confused and her instincts were telling her to run away. Edward Masen was a dangerous man. She did not understand his current state, but if anything, she recognized he may be more volatile than usual. She wanted to run. She wanted to go home and sleep. But she knew herself.

And knew she couldn't leave.

Bella took a step in his direction and once again Edward's head snapped up in his direction.

"Don't."

"Edward-" she started cautiously and he cut her off.

"Go back to your brownstone, Swan."

His words were menacing and for a moment, Bella hesitated. Everything about the way Edward Masen carried himself screamed, "DO NOT TOUCH. LEAVE ME ALONE." And it always did. And he was very adept in enforcing those commands.

But she couldn't listen to him.

Instead of replying, she took several more steps forward, approaching him like she would a wounded animal. His eyes watched her sharply as his lips curled back into a ferocious snarl.

"Leave me, you wretched ghost," he hissed.

Bella was undeterred, though she did wonder what was possibly coursing through his mind. The closer she got, the more she could see the fine tremors that were wracking through his bodies and the thin layer of sweat over his upper lip.

"I do not need your help, Swan, and I do not want you here," he growled through gritted teeth, sounding slightly more like his usual self.

Bella ignored the sting of his words and slowly lowered herself onto the bathroom ground next to him. She sat at his side with her back resting against the cool metal stall. She stretched her legs out in front of her, her form fitting slacks and black pumps looking wildly out of place against the bathroom floor. She settled her hands in her lap as she attempted to get comfortable.

Edward leveled her with an angry glare. "You do not need to be around this, Swan."

Bella looked down at her fingers as Edward continued to breathe shallowly.

"What is _this_ , exactly?" she asked quietly.

Edward closed his eyes and rested his head against the stall behind him. He stayed like that for an undeterminable amount of time – so long that Bella was sure he was going to ignore her existence.

" _This_ ," he finally intoned, "Is what Carlisle does not know he asks of me."

Bella was silent in response. She did not understand what he meant, yet was hardly in the position to be asking more questions, especially given the fact that he had answered one already. She didn't want him to continue to try and send her away and so, she remained quiet, determining that her presence there was more important than answers at the moment.

Edward looked over at her sharply and upon seeing her confusion, let out an angry chuckle. The sound was haunting – Bella felt the hairs on her neck prick at his angry, empty amusement. Without a word, Edward pushed up the sleeve of his already unbuttoned white dress shirt. His hands shook as he pushed it past his elbow and let it drop to his lap for Bella to examine.

There were angry red dots right along certain parts of his veins. They were tiny, yet the recently dried blood around them left Bella to conclude that these were recent.

As if on autopilot, Bella reached out to touch his arm and Edward snapped it back to his body as if she had been about to harm him.

Bella froze, her heart clenching.

Every part of Edward conveyed his desire not to be touched and Bella felt at a total loss of how to comfort the man beside her. The man who no one knew needed comforting.

She let out a shallow breath.

He wasn't yelling at her.

He was not longer attempting to send her away.

He seemed resigned to her presence and resigned to his fate. He rested his head against the stall, his eyes closed as he let his arms loosely encircled his raised knees. Bella guessed he was determined to wait out the lasting effects of whatever had been injected into his system, and she'd be damned if she let him do it alone.

He wouldn't accept her touch. He didn't want comforting words. He didn't want to offer explanations of his own.

So instead, Bella thought of a happy memory, one that had nothing to do with him or the situation they had found themselves in; one that had nothing to do with Chicago, or corporate America or the workings of criminals.

"When I was little, my family and I would go camping at Mount Rainer every year…" she started softly, a wistful smile spread across her face.

Edward looked over at her, his eyes opening as he let his head role to the side to look at her. His lips were not curled back in disgust, nor was he glaring at her. Instead he was staring at her blankly.

Bella took that as a good sign.

"Neither my mom nor my dad particularly liked camping, but every year they did it out of a sense of duty to instill me with tradition and appreciation of the world before they believe it is destroyed by humans. And every year we hiked a part of the giant, beautiful mountain," she continued softly. "I will tell you, if you promise to tell no one, that I was ridiculously clumsy as a child…" she told him with a conspiring grin.

Edward's expression didn't change as he watched her speak. His gaze was detached and unreadable, but Bella could noticeably see his breathing even out as he listened to her. She painted a picture of a quaint little family, trying to make the best of their summer vacation and be far more outdoorsy than needed. With her words she painted the picture of a stubborn little girl who had insisted she knew how to climb rocks and had ultimately broken a wrist because of it.

As she continued to with a soft, nostalgic smile on her face, she saw Edward began to lose some of the tension in his shoulders as he imagined the happier times away from the deadly life he was living.

Bella was not sure how long her soft words filled the dimly lit bathroom, nor was she sure exactly at what point it was the Edward's eyelids blinked closed as her words lulled him into a slumber which Bella could only hope offered a brief reprieve from the life he had found himself in.

And in quiet darkness, she stayed with him.

* * *

Oh these two have yet to cease intriguing me as they demand their story to be told. Hope you feel the same - drop me a line and let me know your thoughts so far.

Happy Wednesday to you all.


	10. Chapter 9

Bella sat on the bathroom floor on that Friday night with Edward Masen next to her, sleeping through the effects of whatever substance the Brigado's has injected into his blood stream. Her childhood storytelling had lulled him to sleep approximately an hour ago, and Bella was trying not to move a single muscle, lest she wake him before he was prepared.

As Edward slept, Bella thought, not for the first time, about what a strange predicament she had found herself in. Edward was a double agent between the mafia and Cullen Consulting and everyday faced uncertain danger because of the position he was in. He had a nasty temperament and avoided people at all costs. He was unpleasant and unfriendly and his life was constantly in danger.

So much of his energy exertion went to pushing people away from him. Any time someone touched him, he flinched as if it pained him. He lost patience in people usually within the first seconds they spoke, yet on paper, he was a phenomenal employee. He was an enigma that Bella was sure she would never fully understand. Yet, her sense of justice and fairness was fully awoken when she saw how poorly he was treated with no reward or respect for doing what he did. He was abused constantly and no one cared. It made her blood boil as she continued to think it over.

Finally, Edward startled away, and for a moment looked wildly confused as he looked around the bathroom, blinking into consciousness.

It was the most vulnerable she had ever seen him.

"Go home, Swan," he finally sighed as he registered that she was here. Bella watched as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Edward…" she started softly. "If you need help…" she began softly but he cut her off.

"This…does not happen often, Swan."

Bella opened her mouth and Edward saw the look of protest and cut her off.

"It is late. I am fine. Go home," he repeated.

Bella closed her mouth and pursed her lips as she looked at him for a hard minute. Under her intense gaze, Edward's eyes narrowed into a borderline glare. Finally, Bella was somewhat satisfied with what she saw, and then nodded.

"Alright then."

And she went home.

But didn't sleep that night.

* * *

A couple weeks later, the Monday at Cullen Consulting passed by relatively uneventfully. Bella met with a few other partners to do some job forecasting for their divisions and continued to work on reviewing the performance evaluations of the employees in Edward's division. She didn't see the bronze haired man that day, as he seemed to be keeping his head down in his office and focusing on work, just like she was. Bella did however see Arlene stationed at her new desk in front of his office and bit her lip hesitantly as she wondered if she had made the right decision.

Edward Masen was an incredibly interesting person and Bella could not figure him out for the life of her. Everything about him displayed his lack of interest in human contact and human interaction. He held himself stiffly at all times and looked uncomfortable whenever he was forced to talk to someone. He lashed out easily and often and people gave into his wish and left him alone. But she couldn't really believe that a person could truly be repulsed by human contact; yet Edward seemed to be and that perplexed her.

It was about four in the afternoon when Bella was growing weary of the work day and wanting to go cuddle up with her cat when Victoria Hansen stomped abruptly into her office, bypassing a stunned Rosalie. Victoria was the Chief Officer of Human Resources, the C-suite position directly above Bella's and one of the only people she answered to. She was a woman that Bella had never gotten along with particularly well, despite her best attempts and as such, they generally avoided each other.

Her esteemed boss stormed into the office while Bella rose uncertainly from her desk chair. "Victoria, what can I do for you?" she asked.

"You have a problem," the older woman replied aggressively.

"With what?" Bella asked in confusion, immediately growing defensive.

"I just got off the phone with one of my former associates, and Williams and Sons -a firm that focuses on private investigation- is trying to steal our employees out of the ISC division. They have their eyes on at least six of them; six of our high performers," she stressed.

Bella's eyes widened. "That division is not big enough to lose tho-"

"Exactly," Victoria cut her off. "Losing any number of those employees would be incredibly costly considering the amount of resources we have invested all the way from their extensive interview process to their highly specialized training. We cannot have their seats open."

Bella was nodding in agreement. Any turnover was expensive, but in this particular division, it could set back that entire area for months. Her mind was already reeling as she mentally pulled forth the faces of those within Edward Masen's division.

"Find a way to keep them here," she demanded. "Go through all of the files of all of the employees in the ISC and do what you have to do to get them to stay."

"Of course," Bella said, her mind reeling.

"And have it done by tomorrow."

Bella hid her grimace at realizing she wouldn't be going to cuddle up with Harold the cat any time soon.

This is why she had not gotten a dog.

Or a boyfriend.

"Don't fuck this up, Bella," Victoria said before turning and leaving without another word.

Bella scoffed once the fiery haired woman left. "When do I ever fuck anything up?" she muttered to herself in not one of her finest moments, irritated by the boss who didn't really do anything, in Bella's opinion.

"Hey Rose?" Bella finally called, "Can you g-"

"Already finding all of their files," the blonde called back, typing furiously on her computer.

"We should probably order dinner too," Bella added with a sigh.

"Sushi good?" Rose asked, whipping out her cell phone and tapping rapidly on that.

Three hours later, Bella and Rosalie had files on every employee who was part of the Investigation and Specialized Crime division and Bella was trying to put all of the information into a spreadsheet on her laptop to try and identify which of the six were being recruited elsewhere. Her eyes were starting to sting from staring at the screen for so long and she had a headache that was beginning to form.

She was ready to start drinking soon.

Rosalie, on the other hand, was growing more and more restless as the night went on. She kept glancing down at the time on her phone and occasionally sending a text and making small faces to herself. After she had been doing it for about an hour, Bella asked, "What's up?"

The blonde winced and hesitated for a moment. "Emmett was planning on taking me out for a 'real date' tonight," she said using air quotes. "But I've told him that it doesn't look like we'll be getting done in time…"

Bella shook her head. "No, but you go," she said with a smile. "Go on your date, I'll finish up here, you've done enough."

Rosalie looked torn. "Are you sure?" she asked hesitantly.

Bella nodded. "Go. Just tell Emmett that he owes me," she said with a chuckle. Hopefully this would smooth over any residing tension from their last conversation about Edward a while back.

"Oh I will," Rose said with a grin, moving to stand up. "Thanks so much, Bells, you're the best!"

The brunette grinned and watched as her friend excitedly moved around and gathered all of her things before frantically darting towards the elevator. Bella waved as she left, an amused grin on her face before the doors to the elevator closed and Bella's face dropped and she sighed.

Looking around at all of the papers in front of her, Bella let her head fall into one of her hands. They had been at it for a few hours so far and Bella had several possibilities of who was being head hunted, but nothing confident and very few ideas how to secure their position within the next day. But she needed something to deliver to Victoria – her job and future at Cullen Consulting would be impacted if she didn't.

Bella let out a small groan at the thought.

"What the hell has Hale buzzing around more than usual?" a voice asked, pulling Bella away from rubbing tiredly at her face.

Edward Masen was leaning against the doorway of her office, his arms crossed casually against his chest as he watched her. Bella looked at him in surprise, noting that his outfit was more casual than usual. He was still wearing his impressively fitting black slacks but he didn't have the matching suit coat or tie. Instead he was simply wearing a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up his forearms and the top button undone.

It was only the second time she had seen him so casual – the first being the bathroom that night. They hadn't spoken since. And a part of Bella (one that was larger than she would have thought) couldn't help but be pleased that he was standing in front of her.

And her stomach flipped as she realized how handsome the man really was.

"A date," Bella finally answered wryly.

"Of course," Edward agreed dryly, but not entirely venomously.

Bella looked at him in consideration. He seemed to be in a decent mood, as far as his moods went. She decided to test the waters.

"What are you still doing here?" she asked curiously, having been sure she was the only one around this late.

"I could ask you the same thing," he intoned back, ignoring her question.

Bella rubbed at her temple. "It seems there is another firm who is interested in pouching the employees out of your division. So I'm trying to figure out who they're after and what we can do to keep them here."

"My division?" he asked with raised eyebrows, not bothering to hide his surprise.

Bella nodded, glancing back at the giant stack of files she had spread out on the coffee table in her office.

"Bring them to my office," he directed firmly. "I'm sure I'm considerably more qualified than you to analyze the people who work for me," he said sardonically.

"No, I can do it," she protested, unwilling to let him take it on.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Bring yourself as well, then."

Bella opened her mouth to protest again but upon seeing his raised eyebrow she closed her mouth and moved to go and get the files. "So you're going to help me?" she asked skeptically.

"Something like that," he said, once again rolling his eyes as pushed off against the door frame and began to walk to his office.

"Have you eaten?" Bella asked before he could get too far.

Edward turned and looked at her in confusion. Since confusion allowed for some vulnerability, Bella watched as his expression hardened almost instantly.

"Yes," he finally replied, composing his face.

"Liar," she accused.

"Please tell me you're not also now concerned with my caloric intake," he snapped in annoyance.

Bella grabbed the sushi that was still on her desk. She had ordered enough for both her and Rose but the latter had not touched much of it, knowing she was scheduled to go on a date.

"Oh I get your table scraps," he said with snark. "Charming," he sneered.

Now it was Bella who rolled her eyes and shoved the black tray that contained California rolls at him. "Take them."

Edward looked like he was about to protest but Bella glared right back at him and then started walking in front of him as soon he had it in his hands. She left him staring at her with a raised eyebrow as she led the way to his office with a giant stack of files in her hands.

Right before they entered his office, they were both surprised to learn that they were not alone on the 33rd floor.

An intern looked at them in surprise when they rounded the corner. Bella immediately saw nervousness spread across his face as he saw the two partners coming near him. He was a young man that Bella remembered from a second round interview she did with Alice back a few months. His name was Matthew Romero, a student at Northwestern University studying marketing.

"Mr. Romero," she greeted, keeping her voice cool.

He visibly swallowed. "Ms. Swan," he finally said, giving a nod in her and Edward's direction. Bella saw Edward's lips curl back at the sight of the intern in front of him; she was well aware how he felt about them.

"What are you doing here so late?" she asked with a neutral voice.

Romero paused for a second and then replied, "I forgot something."

"Does your security pass allow you access to this floor?" Bella asked mildly. Because it shouldn't have.

Romero shook his head. "No ma'am, someone was leaving when I came up so I got in that way."

"Did you find what you forgot?" she asked pointedly. It was clear in her voice that she didn't necessarily believe what he was saying.

"Yes," he said quickly.

Bella nodded briskly. "Have a good night then, Mr. Romero."

The two of them watched as the intern hastily wished them a good evening in response and then scurried away. Bella didn't move until she saw him exit the door that led to the stairway, one which he would not be able to reopen once closed. Edward, who had remained entirely silent throughout the exchange, looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" she asked with a huff.

Edward's lip curled into a smirk as if he was regarding her differently for the first time.

"And they say I don't like interns."

Bella rolled her eyes.

An hour later, the two of them were working in surprisingly companionable sync. They had already gone through most of the stack and identified several employees who Edward felt were high performing enough to warrant looks from a different firm. Throughout their conversation which centered entirely about work, she found herself growing even more confident in her opinion that Edward Masen had an unrivaled intelligence.

Which is probably what kept him alive, she mused.

"Sydney Hampshire," Bella read, looking at the next file in her stack. "Her work does look impressive and you said specifically in your review that she's a good team player-"

"I did not," he snapped in disgust. Bella looked at him in surprise. "I have never and will never use that phrase in my life."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Of course not," she agreed.

"And no, I don't think Hampshire would leave. She's been here since she finished school and met the Mr. Hampshire who is down in IT on the 16th floor. She has ties."

Bella scribbled all of that information down and then moved to the next one in her stack. She was surprised again by Edward's level of knowledge regarding his employees. She had not pegged him as someone who would show that much care for his subordinates. Perhaps care was not the right word, but he did have a wide breadth of knowledge about them.

"And Anthony Weber, he-"

"He's one of them, I'm sure," Edward said.

"And how do you recommend we get him to stay?" she asked after writing something down.

"Give him a generous salary increase. He's motivated by the finer things in life. Whereas Hibbing wants significance and status and will be motivated by a shiny new title and office, Weber just wants cash."

"A generous one?" she asked.

Edward nodded, not offering further information.

"Would 5% be sufficient?" she wondered, mostly to herself.

"Don't be cheap, Swan," Edward said, almost playfully, if she didn't know him better.

"7%?" she tried.

"Better."

Bella wrote down more and realized that they identified all possible employees who Edward felt were worthy of being targeted and they had also come up with retention plans for all of them.

As Bella wrote down some last few notes and they settled into silence, she realized it was a surprisingly comfortable silence. There was no danger they were in, no one was bleeding, Bella's temporary problems has been solved, and for a few minutes, they were simply existing together in quiet companionship.

Their silence was interrupted by a buzzing that could be heard in the quiet. Edward's entire body stiffened as he moved to snatch the phone off of his desk.

"Masen," he snapped in greeting. Bella looked up from her papers again and saw how cold his expression had gone and how rigid his posture now was. It was seeing the harsh position that she realized how relaxed he had just been with her for the past hour.

"Yes," he was saying curtly. "Yes, of course…yes. I will be there shortly. Will do."

Bella watched as he slammed his phone down and then cursed and pushed away from his chair and ripped the suit jacket off the back on his desk chair and threw it on gracefully, pulling a tie from off his desk as well and moving hurriedly to put it on. He moved smoothly and quickly.

"Who was that?" Bella asked as she watched him in concern as he cursed at not having tied his knot perfectly.

"My other boss," Edward snapped sardonically.

Coldness filled Bella as she realized what he was saying. Her stomach sank as she saw how rigid his body was and how immediately stressed he was.

"My apologies, Swan, it does not seem like I'll be able to assist you any further," he said as he unlocked a drawer in his desk and quickly pulled out a small black gun and shoved it into his waistband.

Bella's eyes widened as she saw the gun and then swallowed and nodded.

"Be safe," she said in a voice barely above a whisper, holding her hand out for a moment as if she was going to touch him, before she dropped it.

Edward gave her a curt nod and then was gone without another word.

Bella looked around the now empty office and then took a breath through her nostrils, trying to calm her fluttering stomach as she panicked about where had Edward had just gone off to.

With a sigh, Bella kicked off her black pumps and then tucked her feet under her, nestling into the office arm chair comfortably, prepared to wait for his return.

* * *

Hi everyone! Life has been a little bit crazy and I admit to be immensely distracted by the alma mater, the University of Minnesota, and the way in which that is all being handled. I'm also preparing to move to Scotland in less than three weeks which is keeping me on my toes - if anyone has any thoughts or recommendations about life in the United Kingdom, I would love to hear them.

As always, let me know your thoughts and questions and have a merry Christmas. much love.


	11. Chapter 10

Warning: the following chapter deals rather heavily with human trafficking. Be kind to yourselves.

* * *

Edward Masen was distracted.

The past few years of his life had consisted of a very disciplined lifestyle in which he prided himself on his ability to always remain focused and vigilant. His exercise regiment and diet were structured and he never strayed. His jobs both required the utmost focus as any type of slipup could easily turn fatal and he never slipped up. He was cautious in all of his interactions and always alert to potential danger. He was disciplined.

It was a well structured life that allowed him to achieve high levels of performance and keep himself alive.

But for the past few weeks, he had been distracted time and time again by a tiny brown haired woman who could often be found stomping around the office in heels.

Bella Swan was maddening.

Edward almost growled to himself as he pushed down on the gas in his Aston Martin, confidently navigating through downtown Chicago to get to his destination. Thinking of the HR professional never failed to conjure up all types of emotions from him, the most prominent usually being frustration…frustration that despite all of his best attempts, he couldn't possibly dislike her.

She was so damn nosy and bossy. No one talked to Edward the way she did, at least not to his face anyway. Honestly if Edward's position wasn't so stressfully precarious, he might have laughed at how God damn demanding she was. And she was fucking good at what she did, he had to admit.

"Fucking fuck," Edward muttered himself as he slammed on the breaks for a red light, glancing anxiously at the time of the dashboard. It was never good to keep his bosses waiting, especially when he had no idea what kind of mood they would be in.

It had been shaping up to be a surprisingly pleasant evening, Edward had to admit. He and Bella had worked very companionably because despite all of his best attempts, his snarls and snark did little to deter her from being kind to him. At his most scathing, the most he could draw from her was an eye roll or fiery retort right back at him.

He thought of her wide, frightened eyes looking pleadingly at him, telling him to be safe as she looked like she wanted to grab his hand. No one ever looked at him the way she had right when he was leaving the office. She had looked so scared for him it had taken him aback. And frankly, he felt warmth throughout his body just thinking about it; warmth and a twisting in his stomach.

Edward's musings were broken off when he arrived at Casa de Padre's, a high end strip club that was owned by Luca Brigado, the same mafia son who owned Bite. Edward often frequented Bite when it was too risky to communicate over the phone. The same server would bring out any messages for him with his meal, usually telling him where his assistance or information would be needed next.

Casa de Padre's was no restaurant. Edward parked his car in the discreet underground ramp and then moved both quickly and smoothly through the lit space to the club. The smell of cigars and sweat immediately assaulted him and Edward refrained from making the disgusted face he so wanted to.

It was a hazy place, curtesy of some type of fog machine. It was not well lit except for some low lights around the flooring and the bright different colored lights that surrounded the stage area where a few scantily clad women were moving gracefully. Edward could see there were dozens of men scattered around the area, watching gleefully. Some were on the receiving end of lap dances from topless women. Edward scanned the place for any immediate danger, his hand going to his lower back where his Browning was tucked.

The assistant Edward had talked to on the phone had not said exactly what would be happening tonight, just that his presence was requested by the bosses. Since they were at Casa de Padre's, Edward assumed they were dealing with one of the more delicate aspects of the business.

"Mr. Masen?" one of the apparent managers who was standing by the entrance asked.

"Yes?" Edward snapped in response.

The man nodded. "They are upstairs in the Gold Conference Room."

Edward gave a curt nod in response and then navigated his way around the room. He strood past a hallway of doors which Edward knew you could rent out for a pretty penny, before arriving at the last door and going up the darkly lit staircase, taking a calming breath as he went.

When he emerged at the top, he nodded at two security guards he recognized before they moved to let him pass them. He looked around the giant room which was more of a ballroom than a conference room, his face hardened, pushing any residing thoughts about Bella far out of his mind as he took in the scene in front of him.

It was an auction day apparently.

There were over 50 people in the room and they could easily be grouped into two different categories: clothed and naked.

The ones, mostly men, who fell into the former category were all dressed very similarly to Edward with well pressed suits and Italian loafers that cost thousands of dollars. Most of their hair was carefully gelled back and while it was hard to see with most, Edward was confident they all had weapons stashed somewhere on their body. They were also smoking cigars, talking amongst themselves amicably.

It was the second category of people that made Edward pause. There were about 20 naked people, looking horribly out of place amongst the other crowd. More than half were women, all of whom particularly skinny, but not horribly malnourished. There was a handful of men too, though Edward thought some of them couldn't be older than 15. Most of them were looking around the room with fear barely disguised in their eyes, each of them not wearing a scrap of clothing.

"Edward!" a voice called from somewhere next to him. Edward turned his head slightly to see Luca moving smoothly past a few middle aged women who were also dressed in the latest high fashion.

"Luca," Edward said with a nod and a smirk, shaking the man's hand.

The black haired man looked like the spitting image of his father. He had inherited all of the mob boss's features as well as picked up his style of interaction with others.

"It's been too long," he said amicably.

"That it has," Edward agreed, dropping his hand away.

"Haven't seen you since…" Luca thought about it for a moment. "Oh shit that's right! Haven't see you since we got that fine shipment of dope!" he finished with a laugh.

Edward's mind flashed to a bathroom floor and a small brunette and soft words. He kept his face clear. "I suppose it has been that long," he agreed calmly.

"You should have seen you and Hanson," Luca chuckled, shaking his head.

Edward felt a surge of anger pass through him that he fought to keep hidden. Hanson had been the other "taste tester" whose participation had been more or less forced as a test of loyalty. That's never what it was explicitly called by the Brigado's…but any resistance could align with treachery in their minds.

"Work keeping you busy?" Luca asked, laughing at the very thought of Edward's other, more legitimate job.

"Something like that," he said non committedly.

"I wish you'd be able come out with us more on some of the assignments we've been out on lately, but Roman says not to bother you," Luca commented, conversationally.

"Slipping away can sometimes provide a challenge," Edward said silkily.

Luca watched as Edward's gaze slipped over to one of the naked women with larger breasts was looking blankly as two men discussed her. Luca didn't miss Edward's gaze and then gave a hearty laugh. "She's a beaut, isn't she?"

Edward just smirked in response.

Luca continued. "I love when we get shipments in from the Ukraine. They may not be good at many things over there, but this is one of them. They always find the attractive ones, and they break 'em in well enough."

"And how can I be of assistance this evening?" the bronze haired man finally asked.

"The O'Driscolls are here," Luca muttered lowly. Edward was immediately on alert. The Brigados and the Irish crime family had a long history of distrust and whenever they were around there was cause for suspicion. "They're notorious for behaving poorly at these events. We need more assistance to keep an eye on the merchandise and ensure that it remains…undamaged."

Edward raised an eyebrow.

"Most of these bitches haven't had their cherries popped yet," he explained conspiringly, "Which makes them worth a helluva lot more."

"I see," Edward said.

"One more thing," Luca muttered in little more than a whisper. "No guns. Father has requested that any matter be dealt with in a more…intimate way."

"Excellent," Edward muttered in response.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," he said, touching Edward's shoulder and then moving to go and greet another customer who had just entered the conference room.

Left to his own devices, Edward once again looked around the room once again. He counted to see that there were 19 naked slaves for sale, 12 of which were female, a little older than some of the 7 boys but not older than 22/23 by any means. He memorized the numbers and demographics to record later, tucking in the information that some, if not of all, were from the Ukraine.

The O'Driscolls were mostly a drunken lot from what Edward knew about them. The only real thing they gave the Brigados any type of competition in was weapon dealing. Their guns were much cheaper and not as well made, but they had a sizeable operation in various parts of Europe and the eastern United States. Patrick and Seamus were the eldest sons and mostly ran the business since their father was getting on in age. They had flaming red hair and Edward spotted them immediately just a few people over.

"This one's a keeper, Pat," Seamus was slurring as he threw his arm around one of the naked blonde woman. She was clearly one of the less broken in ones, as Luca has said, and flinched immediately at the contact and Edward could visibly see her shaking.

"Bit on the fat side though," his brother replied, moving to pinch the woman's bare ass. She let out a frightened yelp which only made the two Irishmen let out loud laughs. Edward kept them in the corner of his eyesight, ready to intervene if they got too rowdy.

It was not long before he was distracted by one of the other Brigado sons, Giovanni. Giovanni was a bit of the screw up in the family and botched a few executions which had drawn police attention. He'd also fucked up a drug trade or two and become somewhat of a pariah in the family, falling far out of his father's favor. Edward rarely interacted with him since he was fairly certain that Giovanni was suspicious of him.

"Masen," he greeted coldly, coming up from behind him.

"Giovanni," Edward returned just as coolly, noting the drink in his hand.

"And how did you manage to get out of work?" he said, somewhat accusingly. Edward narrowed his eyes.

"Got a promotion awhile back," Edward said, figuring it was safe to mention since he had already told Roman. "There's a bit less regulation."

"How'd you manage that one?" Giovanni asked, taking another drink.

"I'm good at what I do," Edward replied stiffly.

"So you say."

Edward raised an eyebrow at the dark haired man. "Know something I don't?"

Giovanni gave him an unfriendly smirk. "I'm fairly certain I know many things that you don't."

"So you say," Edward returned.

Giovanni just glared at him before raising his tumbler to his lips and then downed the rest of the contents of the glass. Edward would have never dared spoke to anyone other than Giovanni like that, but the fucker seemed to dislike Edward, so the latter saw no need to exert any effort to change his mind.

Edward watched him in disgust before dropping his snarl when the man finally lowered the glass from his mouth and then began to look around for another drink. He snapped over at a fully clothed waiter who had a tray of what looked like Scotch poured over ice. Edward recognized the strategy behind it as the occupants of the room were much more likely to be generous in their bidding with a little bit of alcohol.

"I want her," Giovanni said, pointing his now full glass over to what looked like the youngest of the girls. She had the palest complexion and platinum blonde hair and blue eyes. She was trying to no avail to cover up her small breasts but as soon as she would cross her arms over her chest she would snap them back to her sides as if on reflex.

Edward swallowed back the sushi Bella had given him.

"Is Luca feeling generous this evening?" Edward intoned with a raised eyebrow.

Giovanni gave a sick laugh. "Hope so," he said before taking another swing of his liquor.

Edward stared at the man in front of him in disgust before turning his head to the side to see where the O'Driscoll sons had ended up. When he saw that they were not in the same spot that they had been awhile ago, Edward's eyes widened. He scanned the room again, this time a little bit more frantically. He did not see either of the red haired men or the blonde haired woman they had been harassing.

"Fuck," Edward muttered under his breath, leaving Giovanni to his booze without another word.

He moved quickly through the crowd heading towards a few doors that were in the opposite direction of the stairs. He pushed in the first one and saw that it was a small kitchen and did not see anyone there. With a growl he slammed the door shut and then pushed open the next one which was a women's powder room which was also empty. Fear gripped his stomach as he pushed open the last door which he vaguely registered as the men's room.

At first it seemed like it was empty but then he heard more drunken laughter from the large handicap stall at the end of the room. Edward rushed forward and tried to kick the locked stall door and when they didn't budge he didn't hesitate to pull out his Browning, remove the safety and blast the lock off the door, kicking it open after the loud noise.

Seamus had the woman pushed against the ceramic tiles, his entire body covering hers and pressing her against the wall while Patrick leaned against the opposite wall, stroking himself.

Edward didn't think twice.

He rushed forward and ripped Seamus away from the girl, throwing him back against the other tiled wall and he stumbled back before the force of Edward's throw pushed him against the wall with a loud thud. Patrick came to his brother's rescue instantly and threw a punch in Edward's direction.

Edward was glad he didn't pull out his gun.

However, while Edward was checking to see if Patrick had pulled out his gun he didn't have time to duck out of the face from the first punch. Patrick nailed Edward in the jaw with his punch before the bronze haired man braced himself and then began to punch the man in return, shoving him in the opposite direction of Seamus. He got about five or six good punches in before he kicked at the man's ribs and sent him flying towards the opposite tiled wall, listening to the loud crash he made when he landed on the small metal trash can.

Edward turned his head just fast enough to see Seamus coming back towards him, fumbling to pull out his gun from wherever he had it. Edward was quicker and got in a few good punches while he was distractedly reaching for his gun. When the Irishmen stumbled back, Edward grabbed his shoulders and slammed his head once again against the tiled wall.

When the two men were both of the ground, equally stumbling to get up to no avail, Edward let out a breath, ignoring the pain that shot through his jaw at the movement from Patrick's punch. He looked over at the young woman who had slid down the wall and was curled up into a ball sobbing quietly with her head buried.

"You're okay now," Edward said gently, squatting down next to her. "Can you stand?"

The blonde woman looked at him, eyes full of tears. Edward's breath got caught in his throat. She finally nodded and moved shakily to stand. Edward offered her a hand to help her, but the movement caused her to flinch. Edward gritted his teeth. She eventually took his hand he helped pull her softly into a standing position just as the door to the bathroom swung open to two guards and Luca storming in.

"You were right about them," Edward said curtly, ushering the girl towards the door.

"Fuck," Luca swore, looking acidly at the two Irishmen who the guards had immediately moved to detain. "The merchandise is alright?"

Edward looked at the young shaking woman next to him. _No, she's not fucking alright._

"She's fine."

* * *

A few hours later Edward tiredly made his way back to the office, even though it was nearing midnight. Whenever he was called out, he always went back to the office to hand write all of his notes of what happened and then lock them away in safe which only Carlisle had access to, besides himself. It was essential that he did it while it was still fresh on his mind as one day all of the notes would be used against them likely in a court of law.

With a heavy sigh, Edward got off the elevator on the 33rd floor and made his way to his office, hypothesizing what time he would be able to get back to his apartment and get sleep. He figured when all was said and done he was looking at about four hours.

Edward entered his office and immediately felt that something was off. He moved his hand back to his gun before he saw who was in his office.

Bella Swan was curled up in a little ball of sorts, sleeping peacefully on one of his office arm chairs.

Edward looked at her curiously as he moved to the other side of his desk and sank into his seat. After a few seconds of consideration, he decided not to wake her for the moment.

He had his notes to write before he got distracted. And…he had never seen her so vulnerable, and never really gotten a chance to observe her without his own pretenses up.

Before he was further distracted, Edward pulled out some blank paper and begin to furiously detail his evening. He included information about the phone call that had summoned him, the location it was at, the details Luca had given him about the Ukraine, his interactions with Giovanni as well as the O'Driscoll brothers. He detailed the number of slaves, the prices they had gone for as best as he could remember, and who they had gone to. He didn't recognize all of the people who had been in the room and took home the humans, but he did his darndest to remember where all of them went.

Edward hoped that they would be able to save some of them. He would get as much information to the police as he could without revealing his position and hopefully they would be able to find some of the victims and get them out. The ones who hadn't ended up with high ranking crime families would likely be spared the worst of it if the police began work in the morning to get them back. He would have to be very careful and report to Carlisle to report someone else in the ISC to report to the police, removing himself from any suspicion.

Finally, after the better part of an hour, Edward finished his writings and moved to lock them in a thin safe at the bottom of the large desk drawer near his feet, a drawer that was also kept locked at all hours. Once the papers were secured by the 8 digit code, Edward turned his attention back to the woman in front of him who had remained completely out since he got there.

She really was beautiful, Edward had to admit.

She had the softest looking skin and the prettiest eyelashes that rested against her cheek. Her hair was softly tossed around her, framing her heart shaped face as she slumbered blissfully on.

Edward finally cleared his throat very loudly.

Bella's eyes slowly fluttered open and he watched as she blinked the sleep out of her eyes and looked around in confusion, slowly moving out of the little ball that she had been curled up in. She looked around the office before her eyes landed on him and then she blinked rapidly to clear her eyes and recognition flooded her face before what looked like…relief.

"Oh you're safe," she breathed with a small smile.

Edward was taken aback once again. Instead of replying, he just nodded dumbly.

Bella let out a breath and smiled again. "I'm glad," she said.

"Fell asleep on the job then?" he asked finally, uncomfortable with her concern and unsure how to handle it.

Bella rolled her eyes, sitting up a little straighter. "No, I was waiting for you."

Edward sighed, thinking of what time it was. He ignored the warmth that spread through him under her concern. "Swan, that was unnec-"

"I wanted to make sure you were alright," she interrupted him stubbornly.

Edward ran his hand through his hair. "I'm fine," he assured her.

Apparently that was not the right thing to say.

Bella shot out of her seat with impressive speed for someone who had been asleep just moments before. "Like hell you're not!" she snapped, moving towards him. "What happened to your hands?"

Edward glanced down in confusion at both of his hands when he remembered that they had been a little bloodied from his altercation with Patrick and Seamus. "Oh," he said lamely.

"I'll grab my kit," Bella said.

"There's no need," Edward said through gritted teeth. Bella looked at him with a raised eyebrow like she was about to challenge whatever protests he made, but he merely opened a different drawer in his desk and pulled out his own kit.

"Yes it's always been here," he said, as Bella opened the kit with a question on her lips. "And no, I didn't give it to you last time because I didn't want you here."

"And you do this time?"

Edward swallowed upon her wide brown eyed gaze. "That remains to be seen."

Bella didn't reply as she went about grabbing a disinfectant cloth and tearing open the little packet and beginning to wipe away all of the blood from his knuckles, holding his hand in her own. Edward winced when the cloth first touched his skin and he noticed Bella's slight squeeze that she gave him in response.

"Is it anything other than your hands?" she finally asked softly, wiping away the last of the dried blood from his right hand before gently taking his left.

Edward shook his head.

"So your jaw swelling is a fluke?"

Damn.

"That one I can handle on my own," he finally replied. He was watching her wipe his hands and could practically feel her eye roll.

Edward distantly realized that he could easily have tended to his hands on his own, but he found he didn't have the energy to protest her administration. In fact, he relaxed slightly under her touch, if only for a moment, too exhausted to fight the feeling of satisfaction that stemmed from being taken care.

"Do I ask how the other guy looks?" Bella asked as she found a couple butterfly bandages to put where the skin had split. If she noticed that Edward was, despite everything, uncomfortable being touched, she said nothing.

"I wouldn't," Edward replied silkily.

Bella hummed her reply as she finished up what she was doing and then put the kit back together and handed it over to him.

"Did you want to talk about it?" Bella asked. Edward looked sharply at her and then noted that she wasn't looking at him and was instead looking down at the desk almost shyly.

It was this shyness that prompted a small sigh from Edward and left him without any venom. "No, I did not. There are some things that don't belong in your ears."

Bella just nodded and then gazed up at him, looking almost sad. "Can I do anything?"

Again, Edward felt his stomach flip and that odd warmth overwhelm him.

"You've done more than enough, Bella."

* * *

For everyone who has wanted to a look into Edward's mind, this one is for you. Hope you enjoyed it - drop me your thoughts about the illustrious Mr. Masen and the insufferable Ms. Swan.

I wish all of you the happiest 2017 as we usher in the new year.


	12. Chapter 11

Later that week, Bella found that it was harder than ever to shake Edward Masen from her mind. She found herself each day more concerned about his safety than the previous. And not only was she concerned about him, she was also ridiculously confused by him.

Their interactions one on one seemed so different than how everyone else interacted with the man. Whereas her friends thought he was was the biggest asshole to ever exist, Bella saw his stress and the wear and tear his jobs put on him; she saw his humor and his occasional softness that he would only let slip when he was weary.

Bella's friends hated the man and did their best to avoid interacting with him on all costs. Alice and Emmett in particular would huff and glare any time they saw him or someone mentioned his name, which was increasingly more common since he was a partner and on the 33rd floor with the rest of them now. In several moments of justice, she did realize they had no real reason to tolerate Edward, as he had hardly been tolerable to them.

It was for this reason that she was incredibly confused when she went to stop by Jasper's office and found it empty, before turning around and seeing her blonde friend and none other than Edward sitting near each other in a conference room, going over some papers.

 _Well what the hell._

She must have stared for a hair too long because Jasper looked up and caught her gaze as she stood in the door frame of his office. He gave her a smile and waved her into the room they were in. Edward looked from the table to see what he was fussing about and stared at Bella impassively.

Bella entered the conference room and Jasper greeted her warmly, "How's it going Bells?"

Edward's lip quirked mockingly at the nickname but Jasper didn't notice.

"Pretty well," replied Bella. "What are you guys up to?"

"I was just leaving," Edward interjected coldly before Jasper could say anything. "I've had more than enough of Whitlock's presence for one afternoon."

Bella quietly huffed at the rudeness of Edward's comment but she realized Jasper was chuckling good naturedly at the comment as Edward stood up. "I trust you can take it from here then?"

"Yes!" Jasper agreed, standing up with him. "We're in a much better place now, thank you."

"That isn't saying much considering what a dismal place you started in," Edward muttered.

Much to Bella's immense surprise, Jasper snorted. "True," he agreed. "Thanks again."

Edward nodded stiffly at the gratitude, seeming almost uncomfortable by it. "Ms. Swan," he said coolly as he walked past her, giving her a nod of her own.

"Edward," she nodded back, matching his aloof tone.

The bronze haired man exited the conference room without another word, moving swiftly into the hallway and blatantly ignoring some comment made by Jasper's secretary.

"Well that's not someone I expected you to be working," Bella commented, turning to Jasper. He was straightening his mess of papers that had been scattered on the smoothly finished cherry wood table.

Jasper let out a chuckle. "Me neither," he agreed.

"What was he doing here?" asked Bella, appearing nonchalant as she perched on one of the leather chairs.

"My team has not been able to come up with anything good for this Microsoft case that we've been working on for months. They keep sending back our reports, unsatisfied with our analysis and suggested courses of action and we'd just about hit a wall," he explained.

"And so you went to Ed-Masen?" she said, again trying to appear indifferent.

"Carlisle's idea," Jasper said with a grin. "Apparently Masen had some pretty solid experience with financial structuring before he moved to ISC."

"Carlisle?" she asked stupidly.

Jasper rolled his eyes endearingly at her inability to keep up with their current conversation. "Carlisle," he said again.

"I thought he hated him," Bella said lightly, ignoring the fact that she hadn't actually thought that.

Jasper shrugged. "No, I don't think he minds him, actually. But I guess Masen can only be so much of an ass to the CEO...so I suppose that makes sense."

"I thought _you_ hated him then."

"Right now, I love him."

Bella raised both of her eyebrows incredulously at her friend. Jasper grinned, clearly exhilarated from whatever breakthrough he had just had.

"The man is good," Jasper said conspiringly. "He found things in the case that all of us have missed for months. After only a few hours he did the work of three employees taking two weeks."

"Hmm," was all Bella said in response.

"Don't get me wrong, he insulted the intelligence of each and every one of my team members several times and in horribly creative fashion," Jasper said, still seemingly not upset, "Even me."

"And you're fine with that?" Bella asked.

Jasper shrugged. "He tells it like it is, I guess. Nothing he said was wrong, the man's just a little blunt. I mean he might just be mean spirited, but if you don't take what he has to say too seriously, you realize he's actually got a bit of a sense of humor."

That had been Bella's experience exactly.

"I'm surprised Alice didn't come in and curse him out while you guys were working," Bella said.

Jasper's eyes widened. "Those two could kill each other if forced together long enough."

"She hates him," she agreed simply.

"That seems to be the general consensus," Jasper said, referring to Emmett and his new significant other, Rosalie.

"And you?" she asked. "Do you hate him?"

Jasper looked at her for a few moments before answering, "No, I don't hate him."

Bella nodded and didn't say anything else.

Edward's employees didn't dislike him either, from what they wrote in their assessments. They respected him and trusted his judgment even if he wasn't the warmest person in the world. Other than them, however, most of the office had a problem with him. Granted, Bella was fairly sure he was less icy to said employees than everyone else as well.

"Do you?" Jasper asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Do I what?" Bella asked.

"Hate him," Jasper said, staring at her meaningfully.

Bella thought for a moment. "No," she said softly. "No, I don't hate him at all."

* * *

Later that day while Bella was finishing up finalizing bonuses and raises for the employees of ISC that hadn't been flight risks, she looked up and saw Edward entering her office, only to be stopped by Rosalie.

"You can't just go in there whenever you want," she scolded him with a glare, crossing her arms over his chest.

"Forgive me, I was unaware that "Guard Dog" was in the essential functions of your job," Edward snapped coldly before entering Bella's office while Rosalie gasped furiously at his words.

Edward simply shut the door to her enraged face.

Bella looked at him torn between amusement and loyalty to Rose. "You know; you really can't talk to h-"

"Do you have plans this evening?" Edward asked briskly and uninterestedly, brushing at a piece of imaginary lint on his navy suit jacket.

"Well, I-"

"Cancel them."

"It's rude not to let people finish their sentences," she snapped.

"I don't have time for ramblings," he replied coolly.

Bella let out a huff. "Why am I canceling my plans?" She hadn't actually had plans but she was not prepared to not give him a hard time.

"I have the dubious pleasure of meeting with Carlisle to discuss any developments that occur with my other employer," Edward said dryly. "And you came up in our discussion earlier today."

"Oh?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"He suggested, and I agree, that since you have insisted on meddling insufferably that you should have some basic training in defense in the event of an emergency."

Bella gapped at him.

"First of all," she finally said, "Carlisle said I meddle insufferably?"

"I edited."

Bella rolled her eyes.

"Naturally," she intoned back at him.

Edward raised a single eyebrow, waiting for her to continue.

"Second of all, what do you mean defense?"

"Meet me in the parking ramp in the lobby in 45 minutes," was all he replied before turning on his heels and leaving.

Once again, Bella gapped as he left, watching him ignore Rosalie as he left the office. She glared fiercely at him, her entire face scrunched up in anger. For a second, it seemed impossible that Jasper had said he didn't hate him.

Forty-five minutes later, Bella exited the elevator on the main floor and quickly found Edward standing nearby. She was unsure what the hell they were doing, but she was sure that whatever it was, she was not dressed accordingly. She was wearing a white high waited pencil skirt and loose short pale pink top that with pumps that relatively matched the blouse. Her pumps clicked on the floor, causing Edward's head to snap in her direction.

He nodded at her. "Follow me," he said curtly.

Bella struggled to keep pace with his long strides as they walked towards the door which led to the underground parking ramp. They quickly made it to a shiny white Aston Martin that was parked near the main level. Bella recognized the car from the photograph that Marcus had taken of Edward's expensive cars. The thought made her keep her gaze away from the man.

Edward opened the passenger door for her wordlessly, keeping his face cold and void of any emotion. His body remained stiff as she muttered a thanks and then tried to gracefully slide into the car. Bella tried not to think about how much the car cost as she settled into the ridiculously expensive leather.

"Where are we going and what are we doing?" Bella finally asked when Edward slid into the driver seat.

Edward pulled a gun out his waistband and put it on the floor near where her feet were. Bella's feet automatically shifted over to give the item a wider berth.

"The safety's on," Edward commented with a smirk.

"I still don't want to step on it," Bella retorted with some sass. "Where are we going?"

"My apartment," he replied as he smoothly pulled the car out of the space.

"We're going to your home?" she asked incredulously.

"No, _I'm_ going to my home," he corrected stiffly. "You'll wait in the car and not touch anything."

Bella felt herself growing frustrated with his shortness that he had been displaying all day. "And this is going to improve my defense…how?"

Edward let out a long sigh and rubbed his hand against his face as he waited in line to leave the parking ramp. If it was his intent to make Bella feel like a complete bother, he had done wonderfully. The next words that came out of his mouth her positively biting.

"I'm only doing this at because of your insistent meddling and Cullen's insistence and I would very much appreciate it if you didn't ask enough questions to make me use that Browning on myself."

Bella shrank back at his harsh tone. Without saying anything else, she looked out her window, turning her entire head away from him, determined not to look over at the ass until she had to. If he was going to be a dick, she wasn't going to be his punching bag.

After a few minutes of Bella's determined silence, Edward eventually let out another sigh, but didn't say anything as he skillfully navigated through downtown Chicago. Within minutes he was pulling into one of the nicer building complexes in Chicago, bordering the financial district where money was everywhere. Bella continued to stare out her window, watching as she scene changed to a different parking garage. Edward drove car near the end of the space and pulled into a spot next to a red Ferrari and a black Lamborghini.

"I have to run upstairs to grab a few things," Edward said after the car had been off for a few moments. "If you prefer, you can come up as well-"

"I'm fine right there, thank you," Bella replied in a clipped voice. She held up her hands almost mockingly. "See, not touching anything."

Edward let out another sigh, grabbed the gun off the floor and then got out of the car without a word, leaving Bella in the quiet parking garage. She thought about the brief conversation she had just had with Edward and then the one she had had earlier with Jasper.

No, she didn't hate him, and she understood the reason for his coldness more than anyone else, but he did not have to be a dick to her when it was just the two of them. She found it far harder to want to advocate for him if all he was going to do was be cross with her.

Bella was not left alone for long and after about five minutes Edward reappeared with a small black duffle bag that he set carefully in the back of the car. Bella didn't say a word, figuring that any questions she asked would not be welcomed. Edward looked at her for a long moment, seemingly unsure what to say, before giving up and starting the car and backing out of that spot.

This time they drove longer, neither of them saying anything but the silence was tenser than other times they had sat without conversation. Bella felt like she was grumpier with every passing mile but was determined not to say anything else. If he didn't want her to talk than he would have to deal with it if he found the silence awkward.

Finally, they arrived at their destination which looked just like a big warehouse on the outskirts of the city. There were a few cars parked around and Edward pulled easily into a spot before killing the engine.

"Look Swan, I am not inherently gifted nor experienced in socializing," he said plainly. "You're the first person that's ever even been in this car. I don't…do this," he said gesturing between the two of them.

For the first time Bella looked over at him and saw how uncomfortable he looked, even more so by admitting his own shortcomings, something she had never heard from him before. He was running his hand through his hair slowly as he looked at her. And her resolve to be grumpy at him vanished, knowing that his words had been a concession on his part.

"You don't have to be good at it," she said gently. "I don't mind it usually and you don't have to go that far out of your way, but you can't just be a dick to me."

Edward stared at her for a long moment. Bella met his gaze and did not falter.

"Okay."

Bella returned his nod.

"Okay."

After a few seconds, she then glanced over at the warehouse. "So what are we doing?"

Edward pulled the duffle bag from the backseat and slung it over his shoulder as he moved to get out of the car. "We're going shooting."

Bella grimaced.

"There are guns in that bag, aren't there?" she asked as she got out of the car as well.

"Yes."

"Fabulous."

Edward looked like he was going to laugh at her but said nothing as he led her into the building and nodded at a few people at a desk before walking into the arena like area that had cement walls and rows of shooting lanes. They went to the farthest one before he sat down the bag at a waist level table.

"Have you ever shot before?" Edward asked.

Bella nodded. "Not since I was little, though."

Edward looked at her in confusion.

"My dad was a police officer before he retired from the force and discovered a love for teaching."

"Of course your father was a cop," Edward muttered under his breath. "Of fucking course."

"Carlisle suggested I learn how to shoot?" Bella asked, changing the subject.

"We both agreed that because of your insistence in being involved with me that it's essential that you have a way to defend yourself if the need ever arises," Edward said coolly.

"I just don't understand why the need would arise," Bella replied.

Edward ran his hand through his hair, taking a moment to calm himself before somewhat patiently replying. "My work has the potential to become incredibly volatile."

Bella decided not to press him any further and instead turned her attention to the weapons he was pulling out of the bag. "We'll start you with a Sig Sauer and see how you do with that. If you demonstrate relative competence then we'll see about securing one for you for the future."

With a raised eyebrow, Bella looked down at her snug pencil skirt. "I really don't feel like I'd be able to carry that as inconspicuously as you do."

Edward's eyes hovered on Bella's skirt covered ass for probably a second longer than appropriate but he blinked and then rolled his eyes. "I meant to have in a secured location. Perhaps your desk or a hand bag of sorts."

Bella nodded.

Edward began to point out several parts of the small gun, including the chamber for the bullets, the safety and how to remove it and put it back, and a few other small details in the gun. Bella listened attentively, vaguely recalling some of the details from when her father had taught her 20 years ago. Edward spoke calmly and knowledgably, his tone cool yet patient.

"Any questions?" he asked when he had finished.

Bella shook her head.

Edward gave a nod, handing her a pair of mufflers for her ears. "Let's see it then."

Bella put the sound reduction on before she stepped up to the end of the lane with confidence that she didn't really feel, holding the gun gingerly in her hands. She awkwardly spread her legs a little bit and unsteadily braced her shoulders before raising the gun. She bit her lip, feeling decidedly unsure about herself.

All of the sudden she felt a warm presence behind her.

"Your feet are right, shoulder width apart," he murmured. "Move so that you are standing straight towards the target." Bella moved her torso slightly, moving with the slight pressure from one of his hands on her right shoulder. She didn't think about the fact that it was the first time she had ever felt his touch.

"When you bring the weapon up, make sure your hips do not shift with it," he continued softly. "Bring it up level with your nose, not too long not too high. Once your position is right, check the magazine and make sure it's filled and then put it back securely. Take the safety off when you are ready and then shoot."

Bella did as he said and then took a deep breath. "Guns demand a certain level of respect, Swan. It is you, however, who commands the weapon and there has to be confidence that goes along with that." Edward's words were softer than she could ever remember as he stayed behind her, so close he was nearly flush with her body.

"Take your shot."

Bella's figured swiftly pulled the trigger. She felt a surprising amount of force from the gun and she briefly considered the fact that she would have surely stumbled back if Edward had not been behind her. She felt vibrations ringing through her arms as she put the safety back and lowered the gun.

"That was adequate," Edward complimented, nodding at the paper cutout that she had just shot a hole in. Bella followed his gaze to see she had hit a shoulder in the black silhouette and was mildly impressed with herself.

Bella continued to shoot a few more times, Edward staying close behind her and offering feedback after every few shots. When they ran out of bullets for that smaller gun, they moved back to the table to select a different one. Curiosity got the better of her and Bella finally blurted out the question she'd been thinking for hours.

"How often do you use your gun?"

Edward stared at her for a moment, his eyes darkening.

"Almost every time I'm called."

The words hung between them as Bella pondered the implications of his admission.

* * *

Goodness these two are interesting. Do we think Bella will ever have to use this training? Edward so rarely interacts with people who are unequivocally on his side that apparently he is rather bad at it. While I enjoyed this chapter, the next three are my absolute favorite and I cannot wait for you all to read them.

I've successfully settled in to life in Scotland. Thank you to all who offered advice about life in the UK. If anyone has any more tips or must see places or things to do while living in Europe, I would love if you let me know.

Best to all.


	13. Chapter 12

It was the Friday evening before Memorial Day weekend and most of Cullen Consulting had already left the office yesterday to begin their long weekend. Carlisle offered the Friday of the weekend as part of their Paid Time Off package and the employees adored him for it. A few of them had stuck around for half the day, tying up some loose ends before taking off the next few days, having earned their much needed break.

Bella was in Emmett's office, finishing up some paperwork for some of the new hires in his department. The incident with Edward Masen had passed by without further harm and the two of them were finishing their work while singing along to some of Journey and Scorpions greatest hits.

Emmett was trying to probe her for information about Rosalie while she attempted to finish her work.

The two of them had been on several dates now and they seemed equally smitten with one another. Emmett had spent more time than usual near Bella's office, making her assistant giggle. Rosalie had told Bella that "He's just a really, really good guy," and Bella had caught Emmett walking through the hallways whistling with an extra spring in his step.

"Is she the kind of girl who would think roses are cheesy?" he wondered, twirling a pencil between his fingers. "Or does she expect them?" He stopped twirling. "Shit, should I already have sent them? Was she expecting them?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "I think she wouldn't mind them but I doubt that she has a checklist."

"Are you sure?" he asked nervously. They'd been on a few dates now and Bella was sure they loved each other.

"Would you be dating her if she was like that?" Bella returned.

"We're dating?" Emmett asked in delight. "Did she say that we were dating? I haven't actually asked her to go steady because I thought it might be cheesy. Do people still do that after high school? Is she expecting that?" And he was nervous again.

"She'd love flowers, Emmett."

"Are you positive?" he asked again, twirling his pencil once more.

"Yes, send her flowers," Bella said, shaking her head to herself as she scribbled down some notes.

"Wait do I send her them or give them to her when I pick her up tomorrow night?"

Bella opened her mouth to reply but he continued. "Oh, should I bring them tonight when I pick you guys up from the party? Or will she be too drunk to care? How drunk do you think she gets at these things? Do I need to bring bags in my car?"

"You're exhausting."

Emmett glared playfully. "Be nice to your sober cab; that's the first thing you should learn in college."

"Send them to her, and she no doesn't get blackout drunk, and I won't throw up in your car."

"You say that now, but do you remember tha-"

"I told you not to give me tequila shots, Em," she interrupted with a glare.

"You were no fun in college, were you?" he teased.

Bella rolled her eyes. "I was incredibly fun. I just went from 22 to middle aged overnight."

"I'm just saying, I can bring bags."

"I will not throw up in your car as long as your driving does not make me," she edited.

Emmett was about to respond but then he perked up and looked over behind Bella. "Hey boss man, how's it going?"

Carlisle was standing in the doorway to Bella's office, nodding his head along to "No One Like You" which was currently on shuffle. He grinned at Emmett. "Just about ready to get out of here. What are you two still doing here?"

"One of us is working," Bella muttered under her breath, shifting her papers around.

"The other one of us is harassing her for information," Emmett supplied helpfully.

"Well, at least you admit that's what you're doing," Bella said with a chuckle.

"All complaints of harassment should be directed to HR," Carlisle said with a laugh of his own. Bella rolled her eyes as Emmett smirked. "Can I borrow you, Bella? Or do you have to get going to Alice's party?"

Bella glanced down at her watch. "I've got a little bit of time. Emmett can survive without me."

"Don't be bitter that I'm off the market, Bells."

"Can't help it," Bella said with a wink as she stood up out of her chair and went to join Carlisle.

"See you at bar close!" Emmett called as they started walking.

"Can't wait!" she called back.

Carlisle gestured in the direction of his office and Bella followed. They chatted cordially about Alice's bachelorette party that was starting in a few hours. Alice figured it needed to be on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend so that people could "have three days to recover." Carlisle perched on top of his desk while Bella plopped down relatively ungracefully onto the couch.

"So what's up?" Bella finally asked when Carlisle didn't delve into why he needed to talk to her.

"How pissed at me are you?" he asked bluntly, jumping right in.

Bella immediately felt her guard, that had slipped while they were chatting, go back up. "Still mad as hell," she said honestly. "And no, I'm really not ready to make nice, I'm not ready to back down."

Carlisle raised an eyebrow. "Bella, you can't just quote the Dixie Chicks at me."

Bella let out a sigh. "Corporate America is no fun."

Carlisle chuckled. "But are you still ma-"

"Mad as hell? Yeah, Carlisle. I am."

The humor slowly faded away from Carlisle's face as he let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Bella. I really am. I'm sorry that you got caught up in this."

"Are you sorry for putting Edward in this position?" she asked lowly.

"No."

"See that's the part that just completely infuriates me off the most!" she exclaimed, not bothering to filter her anger. "I don't get how you can treat all of your employees like family and then throw him into the middle of the mafia with no remorse and no regret and no concern!"

"Bella," he said lowly, his tone hardening with seriousness. "That family kills for sport. They think they run this city and hundreds and hundreds of innocent people have lost their lives in the crossfire. They trade every illegal substance and drug under the sun, they supply criminals and armies with guns and bombs, they run global rings of sex slaves; they run a lucrative human trafficking business that includes babies, kids, teenagers and young men and women. They torture people and kill people and they thrive on being feared."

The young woman stared at him, speechless.

Carlisle met her gaze, sadness in his eyes as he looked at her. "And I do have concern for him, Bella. Of course I do. It keeps me up at night."

Finally, Bella was able to form her thoughts into a coherent sentence.

"I just don't understand why this is what you have to personally do," she finally said, some of the fire from earlier gone. "Why is it Cullen Consulting's job to bring down the mafia, Carlisle? We weren't meant for this! We work with Fortune 500's, not the FBI's Most Wanted!"

"Someone has to do it." he said.

Bella stared.

"For the greater good, someone has to do it and we have the resources available to actually stop them."

"And that someone is Edward," she said flatly.

Carlisle opened his mouth to speak but Bella cut him off. "Edward who you selected knowing full well that he doesn't have any ties. You took advantage of his vulnerability."

"I know you've been spending a fair amount of time with him lately, and are you telling me that I could convince that man to do something he didn't want to do?" Carlisle challenged quietly, raising an eyebrow.

That silenced Bella.

"Bella, I need your help with him," Carlisle continued gently, softening his face. "Only the three of us know about this, and there's only so much I can do without arising suspicion. He's being called on more and more as they trust him more, and he's being more endangered by the day. His information is invaluable and the police have already been able to save some of the victims of their human trafficking because of him."

"When will he be able to get out of it?" she asked.

Carlisle's mouth set into a hard line. For a moment he stared at her with conviction that was so interestingly laced sadness; she felt her stomach drop to the floor.

"If they ever find out that he's crossed them, they'll kill him."

Bella gasped. "Carlisle!"

He grimaced. "From everything we know about this family, if they no longer see any use in him, they'll get rid of him because he's seen so much. He's either with them or he's dead."

Bella rested her face in her hands, feeling an overwhelming urge to go and find that man and protect him from all of the shit that he'd gotten into.

"That is, until we get them," Carlisle added with determination.

That would be the only other way Edward was free of them; either they were gone or he was gone.

There was no ending in which he could simply walk away.

"They will come to an end. Not Edward."

"Carlisle, why the hell did you get our firm wrapped into this?" she finally asked, angst riddling her voice.

"Thousands of people have been victims of this because of the Brigados. People have been violated, tortured, and killed for years. The police and the FBI have been trying for decades to put an end to all of it, but their money talks and they're good at what they do; no one has ever gotten close to putting them away. Edward is their only shot. All of those people, the safety of this city…he's the best chance they have."

* * *

"No one lives," Roman was commanding in a low hiss. "Secure the shipment and everyone else dies."

Edward was sitting in the back seat of a black Escalade with tinted windows. He was slightly squished on the nice leather, seated next to both Luca and Giovanni Brigado. They were crammed in the back seat like teenagers, but none of them had said a word when Roman had entered the passenger seat. Edward was behind the driver and was eyeing him, but he kept his eyes straight on the road.

"Why is he here again?" Giovanni asked his father with a snarl from the other side of Luca.

"Watch your tone, son," Roman snapped back harshly.

Edward figured they probably were not talking about Luca.

"We need backup. This could get ugly, and young Edward is a good shot," Roman said with a proud smirk. "Let us give him the chance to continue to prove his worth."

"Since when did he come with as backup?" Giovanni grumbled, ignoring his father's previous warning.

"What if the police see him?" Luca asked over him, albeit with a little bit more respect.

"We'll be long gone before the police arrive," Roman replied icily. From his tones, it was clear that no more questions would be welcomed for the duration of their ride.

Edward remained silent. It was slightly before midnight on the Friday night of Memorial Day weekend, and the city was alive. Every club and every bar had its doors open with lines spilling out into the streets. Beyoncé was also in town and the concert seemed to have just let out, making traffic hellish. People were excited about the long weekend and the alcohol was spilling over into the streets.

There was so much hustle that no one would notice the gun shots.

Edward had been surprised to receive a call requesting his presence this evening. It had been a rare occurrence that he was called on any assignments as he was largely used for information purposes. However, it seems that since he had demonstrated competence in defense, he was being tasked with more "hands on work" as Roman had put it with a laugh.

It was risky in his opinion. The police all knew who the Brigados were and were hardly surprised if they ever caught them at a crime scene, but there was rarely anything they could or would do with them. Edward had not been born into that same immunity and was living a double life; he was supposed to be an exec at a Fortune 500, he was not expected to be wielding a gun at a crime scene.

His musings were interrupted when he felt the car shift into park. Edward looked out through the dark windows into the night to see that they were once again in the warehouse district. They were in between two particularly shady looking ones.

The men around him shifted into motion.

Luca pulled out a large semi-automatic weapon from the trunk area while Giovanni pulled a gun out of the holster that was hidden under his suit coat. Edward could see he had three more. Roman pulled out a large Eagle and then much to Edward's surprise, turned to the back seat.

"You'll need more than the Browning," Roman said with a twisted smirk, handing the large and heavy gun to Edward.

Giovanni glared but Luca gave him a similar smirk and chuckle. "You're basically a Brigado, now."

"Thank you, sir," Edward said, honored, taking the weapon and swiftly checking the magazine to ensure that it was full.

"And there is the rest of them," Roman muttered, noticing the other black Escalade that had parked behind them. Men pooled out of that vehicle and even through the dark Edward recognized most of them as cousins of the Luca and Giovanni. He also spotted the third brother, Nicola, holding a semi automatic similar to Luca.

"No one lives," Roman repeated.

The four of them all exited the vehicle and went to join the other four men who were waiting by an entrance that had about eight different locks on it.

Edward knew that whoever was inside the warehouse had fucked up big time. From what he understood, it was a shady drug trading ring that called this place home. Roman provided them with the cocaine and expected a percentage of their profits in return, and had lately not been receiving that percentage.

"Well then," Roman said with a sick grin, "Let's get on with it."

Luca blasted at the closed door and then gave it a swift kick before they all pooled in. Edward brought up the flank of the group, keeping his Eagle low and ready to shoot if the need arose. He was all business now - totally immersed in his alter ego of ruthless mobster.

Once they were all inside the poorly lit warehouse and Edward's eyes adjusted more so to the lack of light, he recognized the commotion. He could hear people scrambling and running, and the clicking sound of guns echoed through the large space. He even heard the growls of what sounded like dogs. There were giant storage containers scattered around and Edward guessed they were merely props and likely did not hold the coke they were after.

"Gregory, I know you're here," Roman said loud enough to be heard over the shuffling but not shouting. His voice remained deadly calm.

"I have your money," a voice replied gruffly, echoing through the space.

"Doesn't even show his face," Luca grumbled lowly as he positioned his weapon. "This is why I hate dealing with these thugs. So uncivilized."

Edward nodded but did not dare reply.

"The time for payment has passed months ago," Roman replied coldly. He then gave a nod to the men around him. "Now is the time for blood."

Gun shots ripped through the space as Edward spotted over a dozen men approaching them from all angles, thinking they had the upper hand on am ambush in their home turf. "Shoot to kill," Roman reminded, raising his weapon and firing. Edward's saw a body crumple in that general direction but he then snapped his attention back to what was in front of him.

Luca and Giovanni and split up and were going in opposite directions, their weapons firing loudly and in rapid succession as they shot at anything that dared to moved. A cousin trailed behind each of them, watching their flank. The third son went off with Roman who had explicitly ordered them to leave Gregory to him.

Edward quickly located a hiding spot behind one of the large metal storage containers. He pressed his back against the metal and held the Eagle securely, his finger on the trigger and ready to press it without any hesitation. When he saw one of them men who was not wearing a suit get a little too close to Luca, Edward took aim and fired and watched a bullet ripped through his leg, crumpling him him to the ground in the process.

That shot gave away his hiding spot and two other guards noticed him and began to stalk towards him, firing their weapons in his direction.

"God damnit," Edward muttered to himself as he shot back and then darted out of the way. As he was running, his foot got caught on the ground where there was a chunk of cement missing and he stumbled, feeling an immediate sharp pain shoot through his ankle at the awkward impact.

The next half an hour was nothing short of a blood bath.

Either the drug dealers had never been gifted in the art or weaponry or they were too strung up on coke to having a decent aim, but they dropped like flies. Some of them, however, were experts with guns and were holding their own against the mobsters.

Edward had found another hiding spot out of the line of fire and was creeping through the maze of bins looking to find any stranglers who had managed to hide when he simultaneously heard a noise and felt an agonizing pain shoot through his thigh, the opposite leg than the sprained ankle he definitely had.

As he whipped his head around, he saw his attacker standing not far behind him. Edward stumbled back from the pain as he felt blood immediately begin to pool from his leg. He raised his Eagle up to the shoot but the man was plummeting towards him. Edward braised himself before the large man lunged at him, throwing them both to the concrete and leaving Edward to break both of their falls. Edward's head snapped back against the hard floor in a loud thud and he winced at the blinding pain.

The bodyguard on top of him begin to use his fists as he punched Edward in the face. Filled with adrenaline, Edward rolled the two of them over with all of his strength so that he had the upperhand as he got in several good punches. It did not last long, as the unnamed man let out a loud yell and then rolled once again, slamming Edward back to the ground and grabbing his collar to hold him still while we got in a couple more good punches.

Edward's Eagle had fallen to the ground upon being leapt on, so he resorted to quickly snaking his hand around the man's waist as he dodged the punches. His hands found the gun that he had hoped was there and he pulled it away from his assailant and cocked it against the man's back and pulled the trigger.

Edward breathed a sigh of relief as the man immediately slumped down. He felt a spattering of blood rain down over him and was just thankful it was not his own.

He rolled out from the under the man, his entire body in pain at the movement and his head spinning as he moved to sit up and grab his gun away. The bodyguard next to him had slumped down on the ground as blood poured out of his chest. Edward didn't know if he has dead but he felt a certain amount of anger as he felt the pain searing through his leg.

"Masen!"

Edward's head snapped up to see Luca darting near one of the bins. "Get out of here, the cops are arriving!"

"Fuck," Edward cursed, hurriedly moving to stand with incredible difficulty.

"Take one of the cars," he ordered. Edward began to limp out in the direction he had nodded, noticing that the young Italian was hurriedly dousing the floor with some type of liquid. In the back of his mind, Edward registered that the place would be up in flames in minutes.

The adrenaline pumping through his system was the only thing that allowed Edward to stumble quickly through the warehouse and bust through the doors out into the night. As soon as he was outside, a black Mercedes appeared in front of him and Edward hurriedly limped into the back seat, registering police sirens sounding in the distance.

Edward fell into the back seat and gritted his teeth as the car immediately flew into the drive; the driver did not say a word as he darted out of the area.

The sharp pain in his head was spreading and Edward vaguely recognized how much blood he was losing from the wound on his leg. He felt himself begin to go in and out of consciousness as the driver made it to the back, private entrance to Edward's apartment building.

Through some miracle Edward was able to stumble out of the car and cross the distance to the entrance, punching in his code with bloodied hands. He was the only person who used the elevator that went to the penthouse and he had explicitly ordered there to be no cameras. Edward limped into the elevator, attempting to prevent too much blood from spreading on the surfaces. The elevator dinged as Edward began to fall over and he stumbled out to the penthouse.

Once he was in the room, he squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to be able to focus just a little bit longer before he passed out. Edward pulled out his phone from where it still was in his pocket. He worked as quickly as his shaking hands would allow, knowing he would fall out of consciousness any moment.

The phone rang, sounding as loud as a tornado siren against his ear.

"Swan," he rasped out. "Please come…I need you."

And with a gasp, he slumped onto the ground.

* * *

Old habits die hard and I'm continuing my fanfiction tradition of posting a chapter on my birthday. Your readership and your reviews are the best kind of presents for a gal.

What do we think is going to happen? Isn't Bella in the middle of a bachelorette party? And is Carlisle a good guy or a bad guy? That's a central question in this story as his character addresses the discussion of utilitarianism and the greater good vs Kantian respect for all persons right. Drop me your thoughts. Cheers!


	14. Chapter 13

Bella was drunk.

Alice's bachelorette party had definitely been one for the books. Bella had planned most of it with help of Alice's college roommate, Danielle, who was in town for the wedding. They had been all over the city of Chicago, courtesy of a party bus they had rented for the evening. At each location there had been alcohol, so the 12 of them were pretty well hammered at that point.

The bus had dropped them off at their last location, Black, one of the hottest clubs in the area. The club got its name because there was not a single white light anywhere in the building; only black lights which turned anything white into a light shade of purple. Bella had reserved a VIP section and they had basically been on the dance floor since they arrived.

If Bella was drunk, then Rosalie was obliterated.

"Bellllllll-a!" the blonde sang as she wrapped her arms around Bella's neck and started dancing with her. Bella laughed loudly, courtesy of the alcohol, and then tried to help her assistant stay standing up since Rosalie was swaying haphazardly.

"This is so much fun!" Bella yelled over the loud music as she laughed.

It was fun but Bella just didn't feel like she could keep up with the 21 year olds who were also around the bar. She felt decidedly old next to them, despite the fact that she wasn't even 30.

Alice was nearby and when she saw Rosalie and Bella's hug type dance thing, she squealed and threw her arms around both of them.

"The Mrs!" Rosalie slurred, giving her a kiss on the cheek. Bella let out a useless cheer that was definitely because of her intoxication.

"I love you both so much," Alice said with a giggle, giving them a squeeze. "You're the best."

"No you're the best!" Bella said, hugging her back. "And you're gonna be married soon!"

"WOOO!"

Alice and Bella both jumped at Rosalie's loud cheer but laughed at her cute smile and brought it in for a hug again. "It's going to be the best wedding of probably the millennium," Bella said, continuing her string of compliments that she found herself unable to stop.

"The millenniund!" Rosalie agreed, stumbling a little bit after putting too much weight on Bella who was unable to support her.

After receiving no less that eight compliments, Alice went over to another group of girls from the party and they greeted her much the same way that Bella and Rose had. That left just Bella and a Rosalie who was finding the art of standing particularly difficult.

"Bella?" Rosalie said with a sigh, snuggling up against her.

"Yeah?"

"I think I want to go to bed now."

Bella barked out a loud laugh as Rosalie rested her head against her shoulder and closed her eyes, in the middle of the dance floor. "Let's grab a seat and I'll call Emmett." She wasn't going to admit that she had been ready to sleep about an hour ago because she was clinging onto her youth.

The second Rose's ass hit the nearest chair, Bella pulled her phone out of her bag and found Emmett's contact, albeit a little clumsily. "On my way!" Emmett had sung upon answering the phone, laughing at Bella in the process.

Bella glanced over to where Rosalie had put her arms on the table and had her head resting face first on them. She rolled her eyes and then glanced over at her phone again and saw that she had a missed call. When she saw that it was from Edward Masen, a part of her sobered up immediately as she shakily put her phone up to her ear to listen to the voicemail that he had left 15 minutes ago.

"Swan…please come…I need you."

Her heart stopped in her chest.

After a moment's pause in which she swore the whole world stopped with her, she listened to it again, pressing it as close to her ear as humanly possible. She heard his gasps in between his words; she almost didn't recognize his voice since she had never heard him without a sense of control in his speaking.

"Oh my God," she muttered to herself. Where was he? Was he hurt? Was he dying? Where the hell was he? He hadn't given any details or any way for her to come to him. How much trouble was he in? If he was seriously hurt, he would have been at a hospital…right? Fuck, this is Edward they were talking about. He wouldn't go to a hospital, would he? Was he in the office? Bella's best guesses on where he was at either Cullen Consulting or his penthouse.

"Come on Rose," Bella said with a racing heart, tugging on her friend who now seemed so much drunker than her. "Let's say goodbye to Alice and go wait for Emmett."

The two of them found Alice again and after a long sloppy goodbye from Rose and hug and assurance that Jasper would be picking her up from Bella, the two of them made it outside the club and immediately spotted Emmett's hummer weaving through traffic to where they were. Bella gave him a slightly wave with one arm, the other one being clung to by Rosalie who was getting more heavy by the second.

"Your chariot has arrived," Emmett said through the unrolled window as he pulled up in front of them. He had a big grin of amusement on his face as he looked at the two of them.

Bella stuffed Rosalie into the passenger seat before climbing into the back. She was pretty sure she had just flashed a few people in her tight white halter dress that literally went two inches past her ass. Emmett stared to drive before Bella had really sat down and she tumbled a little bit before righting herself.

"I need you to drop me off at the Bridges," Bella said urgently, having remembered the name of Edward's apartment complex.

Emmett looked at her with a raised eyebrow in the rearview mirror. "Why the hell do you need to go there?"

 _Edward needs me._

Bella gulped as she thought about how to lie to him. "Wouldn't you like to know…" she said coyly.

Emmett raised the other eyebrow. "Do I have to start calling you Booty Call Bella?"

"Just drop me off there."

With a laugh Emmett navigated through the downtown area before arriving at the tall and luxurious apartment building. Bella flew out of the car before it was even in park, feeling the alcohol still heavily in her system, making her walk much slower and more cautiously in her heels than she would have liked to.

"Be safe!" Emmett called with a wink, waiting until she was in the lobby before driving away with a passed out Rose.

Bella took a deep breath and collected herself as much as possible given her level of intoxication which, despite all of the adrenaline that was coursing through her system, was still there. She realized she didn't have a key, code, or any way of getting up to Edward's place and then winced as she started walking towards the night desk attendant.

"Hi," she said with a purr, grateful that it was a younger guy behind the desk. She leaned over so that her already exposed cleavage was visible to him. She hated this and had never done this, but she had no time to second guess herself as she smirked conspiringly at him. "I need to get up to that penthouse suite of yours," she said with a flirtatious grin.

"Is Mr. Masen expecting you?" he asked, flushing red.

"He most certainly is," she confirmed with a sly smile.

The young man looked torn. He glanced at something on his desk with a grimace before looking at her worriedly. "Mr. Masen does not allow visitors," he relayed.

Of course he didn't.

Bella ran a hand through her crazy hair. "I can assure you that he is expecting me and I can assure you he will appreciate the utmost discretion…don't you think?"

The man blinked a few times.

"And it's best not to keep him waiting, wouldn't you say?"

Finally, acceptance flashed in the young man's eyes and Bella was sure the young man had been yelled at by the double agent at some point during his career. "No, ma'am," he agreed. "You can take that last elevator on the right, it only goes to the penthouse. I'll key you in."

Without bothering to thank him, Bella rushed towards the smaller elevator at the end of the line of them. She bypassed the security box as it opened upon the attendant's command. She prayed that she had been right about him being here, because otherwise she was in trouble. Her heart was pounding heavily in her chest as she waited for elevator to finish its ascent. With a ping, it finally opened and she hurried out, still walking carefully because of the alcohol.

The one lone door that the elevator led to was cracked open and Bella breathed a sigh of relief as she pushed through it, prepared to scour the place to find him.

She didn't have to though.

Bella let out a yell at the sight directly in front of her.

Edward Masen on the ground, passed out in a pool of what could only be his blood.

"Oh Edward," she gasped, kneeling down at his side.

"Edward!" she cried as she felt some blood around her knees. "Edward, wake up!" she said as she grabbed his bruised and bloodied face and gently tapped at it. "Edward!"

When all she received as a small groan in response, she immediately went to find the source of the bleeding since most of his expensive suit was coated in the red liquid.

"Leg," Edward gasped out without opening his eyes. Bella looked frantically over at him to see his head lull to the side, looking as still as the dead.

With that directive, Bella looked down to see that his leg was the most covered in blood. She immediately found the wound that had a pool of blood surrounding it. Bella's gut twisted as she realized it was a bullet wound.

"Hold on, Edward," she said loudly as she began to move, her first aid training kicking in. It was a requirement of Cullen Consulting that HR have the training, and she was glad she had sat through the class. "It'll be okay, you'll be alright." She wasn't sure if she was convincing him or herself.

Bella worked quickly. She undid his belt and pulled his blood soaked pants off of his legs, feeling them stick to his skin because of the blood as he went. Bella winced but got them off. She then grabbed the discarded belt and looped it around the top of his leg where his blood soaked boxers were.

With the belt around his leg, she tightened it and made a tourniquet, pulling tightly in an effort to stop the bleed. "Please, please don't lose a leg," she said to herself mostly. "And please don't die."

When the tourniquet was secured, Bella spun around to find any type of material that would be able to stop the bleeding even more. She knew she needed something to apply pressure with. Her eyes landed on a larger dish towel which was clean, neatly folded and hanging on the handle of the oven. She snatched it and then pressed it firmly against the wound.

The towel didn't immediately fill with blood and Bella took that as a good sign. Or a sign that he'd already lost too much blood…she pushed that thought of her find as she pressed down firmly on the towel.

"Edward, I'm going to call 911," Bella said loudly, moving around with one hand to find where her purse had been discarded.

The man made a groan which caused Bella to spin back around to look at him. "No hospitals," he murmured, not stirring or even opening his eyes.

Bella's stomach sank even further.

"Edward you need help," she said with what she realized was a sob. "I can't- I don't know how…"

"You can," he said with a whisper, still not opening his eyes as he writhed slowly in pain.

Bella let out a shaky breath, willing a higher power to push back the lump that was in her throat and dry the tears that were threatening to spill. It was only the fact that he was talking somewhat coherently that prevented Bella from ignoring him and calling for an ambulance.

She was all he had and she'd be damned if she wasn't going to do her best.

Taking a deep breath, Bella thought back to her knowledge of anatomy and her emergency training. With the hand that wasn't applying pressure to the wound and the towel, she found his femoral artery above the wound, near his groin which she ignored. She pushed the heel of her hand down on the artery, applying indirect pressure to stop the bleeding.

"Edward?" she said loudly, trying to force him to stay alert. "Do you have any other…wounds?"

The man let out a groan again. "Concussion…" he said through gritted teeth, eyes still snapped shut. "Ankle."

Bella didn't know what to say and instead just said. "It'll be alright."

The next hour was a terrible experience for both of them, frankly.

Bella held pressure on both spots until she was convinced that her arms were going to be incredibly muscular when she woke up. The alcohol was still buzzing in her system, much to her great frustration and God did she have to pee because of all of the drinks. Edward was mostly still and kept his eyes closed. She could see he was gritting his teeth so hard it must have been painful.

At the end of the hour she had removed the tourniquet because she did not want to cut off all the blood flow in his leg and potentially cause him to lose his leg. She held her breath when she removed it, hoping the towel did not immediately stain with more blood.

When there didn't seem to be any redder than before, she let out a huge breath.

Occasionally she would talk to him and try to coax a response out of him. She had always heard that you should keep someone with a concussion awake, and she was in no position to figure out whether or not this was true, so every time he was quiet for too long, she would ask him another question.

"Swan…" he finally ground out. "Stop talking."

She winced.

"Is it hurting your head?" she asked softly.

"…always does."

Edward's eyes started to flutter open for the first time that evening and she let out another relieved sigh to see the green irises staring somewhat responsively back at her.

"Ass," she breathed, unable to help the large smile that spread across her face.

Edward let out a shaky breath and breathed shallowly for a few moments as Bella watched, her body threatening to sag over in relief.

"There's dressing in master bathroom," he said as way of instruction as his eyes fluttered closed again. "And a bottle of blue pills…get them both, please."

"Can you hold this?" she asked, taking one of his hands. When he grunted in affirmation, she pressed his hand against the towel, slowly removing the pressure from her own hand and holding her breath in the process. When nothing bad immediately happened, she began to move, standing up and going to find the bathroom. After one click of her heels, she kicked them off in annoyance and padded barefoot on the cool tile to find the bathroom.

When she found the room in question she blew out a huge breath and slumped against the closed door for a moment before flipping on the light switch.

The first thing she saw was that her white dress was no longer white. It was stained with blood splattering and she looked like something of a horror film. Her hair and makeup were still messed up from the night out and she really was a sight to see. Before looking for the supplies, she remembered her bladder and darted to the toilet. As she sat down to relieve herself, she felt the heaviness in her head from the alcohol and closed her eyes to steady herself.

After that, she quickly located the supplies that Edward had instructed her to, grabbing the gauze, the large bandages that seemed prepared just for an occasion like this, and then the bottle of what she assumed to be pain killers. Once it was all secure, she hurried back to where Edward was still lying on the ground, smeared in blood, still in a suit coat and practically naked from the waist down.

When she sat back down with a look of panic in her eyes, Edward eyed her with skepticism.

"You can do this," he said lowly, surprising her. "You've done…exceptional already."

Bella nodded wordlessly and then went to work at bandaging the wound that had largely ceased bleeding. She wiped as much of the blood away with a disinfectant as she could before secure the large, heavy duty bandage patch over the skin. She then helped him move very carefully so that she could put a bandage over the exit wound as well, the wound that had not been bleeding as profusely but still needed to be taken care of.

"We need to get you some where else," she finally murmured when she saw that his eyes had closed again after he had swallowed the pills. They opened again at her statement and then scanned the room warily.

"That rug looks good," he murmured, sounding a bit out of it. Bella followed his gaze over to the large living room that was decorated with blacks and greens. There was a giant black area rug in the middle that did look admittedly plush. Bella bit her lip, wanting to protest that a rug was hardly sufficient either, but knew that she would not be able to get him to a bed.

"Gimme a sec," she muttered, standing back up. She vaguely registered that it was 3:42 in the morning according to the microwave clock. She ignored that as she set out on her mission.

Bella snatched every pillow that she could find off of couches and chairs and then tossed them on the rug. She popped into what appeared to be a guest room and grabbed four giant pillows off of the bed and the deposited them onto the rug as well before grabbing a throw blanket off of a different chair and bringing that as well.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked when she had unfolded the large black blanket.

"It's a pallet," she explained simply. She and her friends had used to make them all the time when she was a kid. They would find any pillow or cushion that they could and use them to make a pallet before settling in to watch a movie. She recalled it being comfy as hell.

Edward raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything else as she went into the bathroom and returned with a warm wet wash cloth.

"We gotta get you out of these clothes," she noted, realizing that they were covered in blood.

Edward closed his eyes and let out a long sigh before opening them again and nodding in agreement. She had blinked in surprise, having expected more of a fight from him.

"Can you sit up?" she asked softly, kneeling down again. Edward slowly started to move, propping himself up on his elbows and then moving one by one to prop himself up with his hands. His left hand slipped and he almost fell backward but Bella was quicker and had his shoulder, holding him up.

They worked in silence to rid him of his clothing. Well, mostly Bella worked as Edward sat there looking pained and uncomfortable. She carefully slid down the Armani suit coat and then undid the buttons to the dress shirt until he was almost completely naked sans a pair of bloodied boxers that she doubted he'd let her remove.

Bella ignored the different type of stomach flips that happened upon seeing his naked torso. Instead she gently used the wash cloth to remove the blood off of his skin. After he had peered suspiciously at her, his eyes actually fluttered closed under his ministrations.

They blinked open, however, when she leaned in to wipe the blood off of his face where she could tell he had taken some punches. He winced when she hit a particularly bloodied spot.

"Sorry," she said in a whisper, leaning close to his face.

Edward's nose scrunched up briefly and he raised an eyebrow. "Were you drinking?"

Bella's head pounded aggressively in response to his question.

"Shitfaced before you called."

Edward stared at her for a second and Bella braced herself for whatever he was going to say, preparing for him to berate her stupidity in tending to him while intoxicated.

Instead, he just quirked his lip up slightly in the closest thing she had seen to a smile from him.

"Indeed."

Once she had finished, doing her best to clean him, she raided his fridge and then poured him a giant glass of juice that she made him drink before she glanced at his body. "Oh fuck."

"What's the matter?" he asked warily.

"You've lost so much blood and I just took off all your clothes," she growled to herself. "Shit, let's get you over there before you fucking go into shock. Do you feel cold?"

Edward let her help him so that he was standing, putting most of his weight on her tiny form. "Well, I have lost a lot of blood," he snapped irritably, wincing as he moved in his standing position. Thankfully it was only about ten feet away to get to the pallet of pillows.

He all but collapsed onto the ground, and honestly might have had Bella not been there to help lower him gently onto the cushioned ground. As soon as he was on the floor, she grabbed the cozy throw blanket and covered him with it, making sure that everything up to his neck was covered.

"Swan, I'm not a child that needs to be tucked in," he ground out.

"Be quiet."

Edward raised an eyebrow but found he didn't have the energy to reply.

When he didn't hear anything else from her, he opened his eyes to see her staring at the expensive furniture with a bit lip as she looked down at her stained dress.

"In the bottom drawer of my dresser," Edward said, closing his eyes again as he felt the dizziness from standing up. "Grab a t-shirt," he finished.

Bella all but ran back to his bedroom and quickly located the dresser he was talking about. She grabbed the first t-shirt she could get her hands on and shimmied out of the tight dress that was now dried with caked on blood. She threw the t-shirt over her and realized wryly that it was longer than the dress she had been wearing.

Edward's eyes were closed and his head was tilted into the stack of pillows and he looked decidedly peaceful. Bella looked at him for moment and felt emotions swell up in her heart, none of which she could comfortably place. She poured another extra tall glass of juice and made him drink all of it before she took the glass back to the kitchen.

Without another word, Bella went to turn off the lights except for a few low ones in the kitchen, wincing when she saw when time it was again. She then plopped down gracelessly onto the carpet, causing Edward's eyes to flutter open as she settled into the stack of pillows next to him, cuddling up with her own blanket. She set a few alarms on her phone, prepared to wake him up every two hours to check on him.

He looked over at her curiously and even in the darkness she saw a type of softness that she was not accustomed to. It could definitely be attributed to the blood loss and hopefully moderate concussion, she supposed, but it made her give him a small smile.

"Thank you," he said lowly into the darkness.

Before she could second guess herself, she reached over and found his hand nearby and gave it a squeeze. "You're welcome."

In the darkness, she heard a small sigh and then a tentative squeeze in return.

"Are you going to be alright?" she asked, unconsciously tightening her grip on his hand as she voiced the fear she felt.

Edward's eyes found hers and he gave her a small nod. "What you've done for me…is more than enough."

The pair was silent for a moment.

"You scare the hell out of me, Edward."

Bella heard a heavy sigh through the darkness.

"I'm sorry."

She shook her head to herself, letting out a shallow breath.

"I'm so scared for you, Edward. Not of you."

Edward was quiet before he whispered. "I'm sorry for that too."

* * *

Wowza.

What a chapter - certainly one of my favorites! Yes, he should have gone to hospital, I'm with you there, and Bella might not have gotten it all right, but I'm thinking he might pull through. Next chapter comes with an unprecedented level of ExB time...do you think the Edward that wakes up will be the same old grump? Or might this be just the turning point these two needed?

Drop me your thoughts! I promise I read all of them between my European adventures (thanks to all who have left suggestions, keep 'em coming)


	15. Chapter 14

" _Ain't no mountain high, ain't no valley low…"_

Edward was pulled out of a heavy sleep by an incessant noise. He waited impatiently for it to stop, but when it appeared that it would not cease any time soon, he pushed the fog out of his mind and woke up, vaguely recognizing that he was hearing music of some sort. With a groan, he pushed himself up on his elbows and looked around in the darkness in confusion, his head throbbing painfully.

"What the…" he muttered to himself, realizing he was tucked into a makeshift bed on the floor in the middle of his living room.

" _Ain't no river wide enough, to keep me from getti-_ "

Edward located the noise was coming from an iPhone that he could hear buzzing. His eyes focused and he remembered that he was not alone on this make shift pad.

Bella stirred with a small little groan, which Edward would never admit was adorable, and then she moved more, her eyes blinking open as Edward foggily tried to find the the source of the noise. When Bella blinked enough to realize it was her phone alarm going off, she reached under her to grab the phone and silence Marvin Gaye with the press of her finger.

" _That's_ your alarm?" Edward asked weakly, falling back into the pile of pillows as the pounding in his head grew worse with his seated position.

"It gets me going," she muttered, snuggling back up with her pillow right next to him, facing his direction. Edward felt a slight nudge as she curled her legs up so that she was in a little ball on her side.

"Aren't you suppose to be waking me up?" Edward said with a small amount of snark.

"Hmm? You're awake…good to go…see you in two hours," Bella mumbled sleepily, her sentence being interrupted with several yawns which were simply too big for her face.

As she spoke, she snuggled up close to him so that her warm face was resting on his bicep. Her legs which were hugged close to her chest were also pressed into him as she nuzzled his arm like he was a pillow.

"Swan…" he muttered suspiciously, peering down at her body with only movement from his neck, not wanting to disrupt her.

Bella was already sound asleep.

Edward was too tired and his head hurt too much to put up any type of protest and instead, rested his head to the side so that it was leaning on top of hers. He drifted back to sleep at the sound of her soft breathing.

* * *

At 8am, Marvin Gaye started again.

This time Bella heard it before Edward and she woke up, trying to find the phone and shut it off because she just didn't want to hear about mountains and valleys. It didn't even occur to her that she had just been pretty cozied up with the harsh man. She found the phone and shut it off before looking around with a squint; the room was still nearly pitch black thanks to some heavy duty curtains that Edward had in his living room.

Bella's head was pounding and she certainly was not ready to wake up, but remembered what had happened just four hours ago. With a small groan, she pushed away the blanket she had claimed as her own, standing up slowly and ignoring her pounding headache she had gotten from the alcohol. She padded softly over to the kitchen and grabbed a large glass and filled it with the last of Edward's orange juice in his fridge and then walked back over to the pallet.

"Edward," she said softly as she sunk down to the cushioned ground.

No response.

Bella could see that he was breathing, so at least she didn't have to worry about that.

"Edward," she repeated. She poked his shoulder.

Nothing.

"Edward, wake up so I can go back to sleep," she said loudly and then yawned.

Bella continued to poke him until his eyelids fluttered open. Though she was hardly awake, she felt a large amount of relief flood through her system at his sleepy green eyes.

"Why the hell are you jabbing me?" he grumbled, his face scrunching up in dismay.

It was oddly adorable, but she would never admit it.

"Drink your juice," she ordered.

One eye opened.

"Drink it," she repeated.

With a low groan of his own, he pushed himself slowly up onto an elbow and took the glass in question. As soon as Bella was free of the spillable liquid, she collapsed down onto the pillows with a huff, closing her eyes and fighting sleep immediately.

"You're ridiculous," Edward muttered without venom.

Bella opened her eyes to see that he had finished the large glass and sat it down.

"You're difficult," she retorted, closing her eyes again.

"Touché."

They both drifted back to sleep, but only after Bella had once again wiggled sleepily over to him and rested her head on him. She was close enough to hear his strong and steady heart beat, and the repetitions lulled her immediately back to sleep.

* * *

" _Listen baby…ain't no mountain high, ain't no valley low, ain't no river wide enough…_ "

"Arrrrrrhhh!"

Bella woke with a start at the uplifting sounds of Marvin Gaye which usually woke her up much more pleasantly. She started slapping her hand around trying to find the damn phone that was continuing to wake them both up every two hours because of the alarms she had previously set.

"Turn the fucking thing off," Edward muttered angrily, readjusting his head aggressively.

She finally found the phone under a pillow and cut off the cheery song that she would never be able to find cheery again. When the noise stopped, she let out a breath of relief and then settled back into her nest of pillows.

Bella buried her pounding head back into the pillow. She had flipped to sleep on her other side and her back was pressed against his warm side.

"Still alive?" Bella mumbled.

"Apparently."

"Great."

And they drifted back to sleep, each of them ignoring the aches in their heads.

* * *

The next time Marvin Gaye started, Bella was already naturally waking up from her alcohol induced slumber.

" _Listen baby…a_ -"

"No," Bella said with a growl, killing the music. "I will not listen."

Bella rolled over slowly to see that the man beside her was still asleep. The man who was hated by several of her friends, the man who was known as the biggest asshole in the firm, the man who was apart of the god damn mafia...the man whose eyebrows were furrowed slightly in his sleep, his lips pouting slightly, making Bella's heart melt. That man.

Figuring she could ignore the pounding in her head no longer she went to find those pain killer pills that she had given Edward after bandaging his wound. She searched for a few moments, her stomach twisting when she saw all the dried blood on the ground, before she found them discarded on the ground.

Just as she was about to take one, she heard him.

"Do not ever just take unlabeled medication," Edward snapped from on the ground behind her. Bella spun around to see him propped up on an elbow. "You're better than that, Swan."

"No, _I'm_ hungover," she corrected.

"That medication is particularly strong and not meant to get rid of headaches," he informed her. "I believe I have Advil somewhere." He started to move like he was going to get up but Bella hurried to stop him.

"I have some in my purse!" she exclaimed, turning to grab the bag and dig through it, holding it up triumphantly when she found it.

Edward rolled his eyes.

Bella went about filling up glasses of water, this time one for herself as well. She brought them over to the pallet and sat down next to him, handing it over.

"I don't even warrant juice now?" he mumbled, eyeing the glass with distaste.

Bella threw the Advil in her mouth and took a large swing of her water before glaring at him.

"It's hardly my fault that your fridge was not properly stocked for when you got shot and refused actual medical attention," she snapped.

"Hardly," he agreed absentmindedly.

Bella raised an eyebrow at his gentle mocking but saw that he was downing the rest of his water and was satisfied that he was getting some fluids in his body.

"Go back to sleep," she ordered, taking the glass out of his hand when he finished.

Edward looked like he was going to protest but then just let out a sigh. "Could you hand me the unlabeled medication?"

Bella did as he asked and then she watched as he dry swallowed two more little blue pills. He then moved kind of awkwardly back down, as if he was feeling self conscious about the fact that she was now more awake than him. Bella mustered a yawn, finished her glass of water and then also laid back down and closed her eyes.

* * *

As soon as Edward's breathing evened out and she was confident he was asleep, she carefully moved herself off of their makeshift bed and stood up with a big stretch which she tried to keep quiet. Luckily the Advil was kicking in and the pounding in her head was starting to subside.

The first order of business she had was to clean up. It was an incredibly gruesome sight she was looking down at, Edward's blood smeared all over of his pristine white tile. As she gazed in the dark at the dried red liquid, she let out a sad sigh. Her heart started beating faster just thinking about the early hours of the day.

Bella set about looking for cleaning supplies while making as little noise as possible. She located some bleach and cleaning rags under the kitchen sink as well as a bucket which she took to the bathroom sink so the running water would not wake him up. She figured he was probably a light sleeper so she didn't want to take any chances.

Then, she got on her knees, which she realized were bare since she was still only wearing one of Edward's t-shirts, and began to scrub. The process took longer than she expected as she had to continuously squeeze out the rag and change the water once it got too pink from the absorbed blood. Bella's nose wrinkled as she worked but she finished the job with determination.

She then found all of the discarded pieces of his suit and gathered them all. While she had done alright in getting the blood off of the hard surface, she wasn't sure if the clothes would be salvageable. So she simply gathered them all in her arms and set about finding his laundry area. When she found a small room tucked behind a bathroom, she dumped the clothes unceremoniously into a large white sink.

Then, just for good measure, she downed another large glass of water. She cursed her body's inability to keep up with her alcohol consumption. The sluggishness she felt today was definitely punishment for trying to keep up with her college years.

After that, she grabbed her phone and settled back down on the pallet next to a completely asleep Edward. He was sleeping more on his side so that his back was to her when she laid back down in her spot. She looked over at him and watched his side fall and rise with his breathing for a few moments longer than necessary.

She then spent the next however many minutes on Google, trying to earn a medical degree without much effort. She read what people were supposed to do in treating gun shot victims and was proud of herself for the most part, except for the fact that he could have gone into shock since she had done little to regulate his temperature. She then researched concussion protocol and took notes of what the next few days would look like for him. She saw that despite the common myth, plenty of rest was likely a good thing for a person with a concussion and breathed another sigh of relief that she had done the correct thing.

* * *

By the time Marvin Gaye started again, she cut it before he could tell her to listen baby.

Bella glanced down at Edward's sleeping face that seemed impossibly peaceful. She wanted to let him sleep for as long as his body possibly could, but she also needed to change the wound dressing…at least so she thought. She really wished she had any medical knowledge but the most she was working with was some first aid training and 7 seasons of Grey's Anatomy.

"Edward," she said softly, touching his shoulder gently. "I need you to wake up now."

The man shifted slightly but did not turn towards her.

"If you don't wake up, I'll play the song again…" she threatened in a louder voice.

"Swan, your bedside manner…" he said with a groan, turning onto his back. "…is terrible."

"That's why I didn't go into the medical profession," she informed him with priss.

Edward moved groggily to run his hands through his unruly hair, stretching out his body in the process and closing his eyes again as he did so. Upon seeing his bare arms, Bella remember that between the two of them, they had three articles of clothing on.

"What time is it?" he asked, rubbing the side of his face slowly.

"A little after two," Bella replied.

"Good Lord," Edward muttered in surprise.

It reminded Bella of something her mother would do, and the thought made her stifle a chuckle.

"How's your head?" she asked in concern.

"How's yours?" he returned.

Bella rolled her eyes. "Why does everyone assume I can't hold my liquor…"

"I can only imagine."

Bella glared at him, but there was a twinkle of playfulness in her eyes. "Don't ignore my question. How does your head feel?"

Edward closed his eyes as if the mention of it brought more painful to his head. He chose his words seemingly with care. "Concrete will usually win that battle."

Bella thought about what he was saying and winced at the mental image that his words conjured. She figured it was the blood loss and the concussion that was getting him more than the bullet wound.

"I need to change your bandage," Bella said, changing the subject. "And stitch up the wound."

"I can do it," Edward said stiffly, shifting away from her.

"That's fine, but I'm _going_ to do it," she said matter of factly, grabbing some of the supplies she had rounded up. There was a disinfectant that she had forgotten to put on before the first bandage and she was getting antsy to put it on the wound.

"No, I will. You can go-"

Bella glared at him. "Look, you don't get to just call me in the middle of the night before you pass out in a pool of your blood to tend to you and then send me away hours later after the only damn clothes I have are stained in blood...your blood!"

Edward stared at her intently while she spoke and she swore his lip quirked up slightly in amusement before he let out a sigh. "Fine."

Bella resisted from making a triumphant "Hmmph" and then went to work changing the large bandage which was full of dried blood. When she put the disinfectant on the wound, Edward gritted his teeth and clenched his fists but didn't say anything about the burn. She went to work at quickly closing the angry red hole, trying to keep her hands as steady as possible.

Just as she was finishing up on both sides of the wound she looked over at him. He had that uncomfortable look on his face again, clearly unsettled with being in the weaker position of the two. At least that's what she hoped was bothering him and not her tending to him.

"I lied," she muttered as she finished up.

"Hardly surprising," he mumbled with a scowl. "About what?"

"You _do_ get to just call me in the middle of the night before you pass out in a pool of your blood. You absolutely get to do that."

Edward tilted his head minutely. Bella braced herself for whatever tyrant he was about to go off on. She bit her lip under his gaze, concerned that she had just overstepped.

"Thank you for coming," he said with gentleness. "I don't know what state I would be in now if you hadn't arrived and stopped the bleeding."

Now it was Bella's turn to be uncomfortable at his words. She busied herself with rearranging the medical supplies in her hands before giving him a nod. "I'll be here whenever you need me."

Edward's face shifted and he opened his mouth to say something but Bella interrupted him.

"And I think you need me right now, so I'm not going anywhere for awhile."

He blinked.

"Swan…"

"No. It's Saturday, I have no where to be and I have very little faith that you will get the rest that you need to heal your stupid head," she proclaimed fiercely. "So I'm staying."

Edward's eyes narrowed at her but this time she would not back down from his coldness. She met his gaze boldly, tilting her chin up defiantly.

Finally, he exhaled slowly.

"Like I said…your bedside manner is atrocious."

* * *

Two hours later, Bella's alarm went off again, but it was unneeded.

"If I hear that song one more time, I'm going to shoot something," Edward growled angrily as he heard Marvin Gaye before she hurried to silence the phone.

The two of them had shifted their giant stack of cushions so that their heads were now facing Edward's giant flat screen TV that was mounted on the wall. Bella had logged into her Netflix account (after Edward had stared at her in utter distain upon her asking if he had one...the answer was a resounding no).

"Oh hush," she snapped, not taking her eyes off of the TV, "At least you can hear it and aren't in a coma."

She heard a hmph from her right side where he was lying on his back next to her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him cross his arms grumpily over his chest. He made a horrible patient; it was almost a good thing he refused to go to hospitals, really.

"This is terrible on the back," he grumbled, gesturing to the fact that they were still on the rug covered ground.

"You're not that old," she said dismissively.

"And how did you reach that conclusion?" he snapped.

"From your date of birth," she said, finally looking over at him with a raised eyebrow. "HR."

Edward's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "That's unet-"

"I got an A- in Ethics, I don't claim to be an angel," she said defensively.

"A fact that has continued to leave you bitter?" he drawled with amusement in his tone.

"Immensely."

Edward smirked and settled his eyes back on the TV, shaking his head at the small fiery woman next to him.

* * *

About eight hours later, Marvin Gaye made his last stand.

" _Listen baby, ain't n_ -"

With a loud growl, Edward aggressively reached over Bella, taking care not to jostle her, and grabbed her phone and silenced the fucking thing. He then tried to log into the phone, intent on turning off any remaining alarms.

"0610," Bella mumbled the passcode sleepily next to him.

The two of them had watched two movies and ate a pizza that Bella had had delivered. Her hangover left her with no desire to move from their cushioned pallet and his concussion and generally beat up body left him relatively exhausted and with no energy to really argue with her. He was still exhausted from his trip to the bathroom a few hours ago - he had needed Bella's help to get to the fucking room, which he had sprained ankle one leg and a gun shot wound in the other. He had all but collapsed back onto the cushioned ground when he was done.

"I'm clearly not going to go into a coma…" he muttered in irritation, tapping through to her Clock app and disabling the rest of the alarms she had set for the wee hours of the morning.

"Clearly," Bella mumbled in agreement. She let out a big yawn that ended with a little sigh as she snuggled up with her pillow on her side, facing his direction.

Once Edward was satisfied that he would never again be bothered with the insufferable song, he discarded her phone and laid back down. He had been awake before the alarm had gone off, unable to fall asleep after the movie. He had been staring up at the ceiling, his mind racing as his head pounded.

"Were you not sleeping?" Bella guessed in a voice barely above a whisper.

Despite several misgivings, Edward rolled on his side so that he was mirroring her position. Her large eyes were wide as she regarded him softly. She was staring at him not with pity, nor with anger or disdain…she was just looking at him with incredible care.

"I was not," he said quietly.

"Do you ever sleep?" she wondered curiously.

Edward gave her a one shouldered shrug. "Occasionally," he said with seriousness.

"That likely isn't good for you," she commented lightly.

"Likely not," he agreed.

Bella remained silently, just gazing at him in the darkness. Her wide, beautiful eyes seemed to loosen his lips as she waited without expectation.

"I find myself with very little time for sleep," he admitted.

Bella was too sleepy to get excited about the fact that he was willingly continuing a conversation with her, without prompting from her. Instead she just nuzzled further into her pillow and gazed at him.

"Carlisle said you were getting called on more," she said softly.

Edward sighed, pressing the side of his face further into his pillow. "This entire operation is contingent upon their having trust in me…and since they trust me, they have started to involve me in…other parts of the business."

"It's a vicious cycle," Bella whispered ruefully.

"Indeed," he replied, staring at her as her eyes closed.

For a moment, he thought she had fallen back asleep. Gazing upon her sleeping face reminded him of when he had walked into his office to find her waiting for him to return from one of his assignments. Bella was so different from everyone he knew, because she gave a shit. She gave a shit about everything.

Including him.

Her eyes opened back up and she found him staring at her. Instead of lowering his eyes, he met her gaze and felt a stirring of tenderness pass through him.

"Are you ever frightened?" she asked tentatively, her eyebrows furrowing in concern.

Edward was too tired to lie to her.

"Sometimes."

"I'm sorry."

"That's ridiculous," he breathed. "You have nothing to apologize for."

Bella gave him her own little shrug. "I'm sorry on behalf of the firm. I still can't believe Carlisle did this to you."

"He didn't do a thing to me," Edward said, uncomfortable with her apologetic gaze.

Bella gave another shrug and he read that to mean she did not agree with his assessment.

"Don't be noble and remain mad at him on my account," he said, surprised that the words were coming from his mouth. "I cannot stand bleeding hearts," he added to lighten his statement.

"Well someone has to do something on your account," responded Bella with subdued passion.

"I can advocate for myself, well enough," he replied stiffly. When he was met with a skeptical look, he changed the subject. "The man cares for you a great deal," he commented.

Bella's lips turned up. "He's like a father."

"His blatant favoritism had the tendency to be overwhelming," Edward remarked. The words were not exactly kind, but they were not said with malice either.

"I'm sorry," she winced, thinking of other three young execs who he had unofficially adopted.

"You apologize for Carlisle Cullen's actions far too often," he noted.

Bella gave a light chuckle. "An employee's worth is determined by good how they make their boss look."

Edward rolled his eyes.

"It's a wonder how you excel at your job with a mantra like that and a barely passing grade in morality," he remarked.

"You think I excel?" she asked hesitantly, wincing at the sound of her own words.

"Forbes 30 under 30 certainly does," he commented with his lips forming into a half sneer.

"Do you?"

Edward paused and looked at her intently for a moment. "I have been…" he thought before continuing, "I have been continually impressed by your performance in the company."

"Thank you," she said softly, fighting the urge to preen at his compliment.

Edward gave her a wordless nod before speaking again. "And how does your real father feel about Cullen honing in on his duties?"

Bella bit her lip. "I don't really talk to him as often as I should."

A raised eyebrow met her words. "Why is that?"

"My parents divorced as soon as I left for college," she explained. "I think their marriage had probably fallen apart much earlier, but they kept it together until I was moved out. Each of them remarried by the time I graduated college."

"The stepparents are wicked then?" he prompted.

Bella shrugged. "Phil and Sarah are fine. I went and visited them more often during those first few years, but after awhile, it just didn't really feel like home anymore. They have their lives that they're happy with, and we check in regularly enough, but home is here now."

"Ah," he said, contemplative of her words.

Bella eyed his bruising face, biting her lip. She knew that he had no parents, but she wasn't sure any of the details behind it. That information had probably been in the file from Marcus when she had him investigated, but it had been the photos that had held her attention, not the other details of his past.

"Will home always be here?" he asked.

 _Not talking about his parents then_ , she thought to herself.

"Maybe," she shrugged. "I suppose I'll eventually have some kiddos and a guy to consider in the mix."

Edward was silent at her words. He was looking at her, but his mind seemed to be elsewhere.

"What about you?" she asked gently.

"I'm not so sure 'kiddos' are in my future anytime soon," he said lowly. Bella could not discern whether or not the idea had any appeal to him. "This life has certain demands that children would greatly complicate."

Bella sort of understood, but in her sleepy haze, she couldn't help but materializing her confusion with her scrunched eyebrows.

"If the Brigados were ever to find out about my treason, the worst they could do is torture and kill me," he said without emotion. "But if I had ties…people I cared greatly about –and I'm fairly sure offspring would fall into that category– they would have a more devastating way to get to me."

Bella reached out to snatch his hand before she could help herself.

"So, yes, for the foreseeable future, Chicago is home," he concluded, unable to help himself from squeezing her hand in return.

"That's why you're an ass, isn't it?" she guessed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You don't want to endanger anyone by being friendly with them, so you push anyone and everyone away," she accused.

Edward's breathing was shallow as he stared into her wide eyes. Then, because he was exhausted and medicated, and she was still there and caring, he reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Apparently everyone…except you."

* * *

Oh goodness, I have been excited for you all to read this since the moment I finished writing it. It is certainly one of, if not my favorite chapters of this story. What did you think? Which of the two hours was your favorite? Dying to hear your thoughts as always!

All of the love and happy Sunday.


	16. Chapter 15

Bella stayed in Edward's penthouse for the rest of the weekend. It wasn't really necessary after that first day when both of them were assured that he was not in fact going to slip into a coma. He was able to change his own dressings and he could get around the apartment with a weird little hobble since he revealed that he sprained an ankle on the opposite leg that he had been shot. But she stayed.

And he didn't have the energy or, admittedly, the desire to fight her.

They spent Sunday and Monday just bumming around in the darkened penthouse. Edward was aggressively trying to heal his concussion so that meant he slept a lot and avoided bright lights or noise. By the end of Monday, he seemed much better, just not very full of energy.

Carlisle picked Bella up on Monday afternoon to take her back to her brownstone, since she was without a car. She could have taken a taxi, but she also did not have anything to wear other than Edward's t-shirts and her blood stained dress. So she called him and he immediately agreed to come into the city to chauffer her, along with a pair of Esme's sweatpants. He didn't ask any questions or say anything about her attire.

The thing that tripped Bella up the most after leaving Edward was the realization that she didn't really want to leave Edward.

For all intents and purposes, they'd had a pleasant weekend. Edward was much more relaxed in the comfort of his own home and was less cautious and cold when he was just with her, someone who already knew his secret. He wasn't ridiculously friendly or bubbly though; he was still a sarcastic, impatient, difficult and occasionally rude man. But she had enjoyed his company as they discussed everything from the firm, to their colleges, to art and music.

Bella found herself laughing more than she had in a long time, because just like Jasper observed, if one didn't take offense to him, Edward had a wicked sense of humor. She liked sparring with him and she especially like the way his eyes seemed to sometimes mischievously dance when he sparred back.

He didn't mention Friday night and what he'd been doing and she didn't ask.

She noticed that he didn't talk about himself very much, or rather he didn't give details about his life or past. He was open with his interests and vocal about his dislikes and opinions on anything and everything, but he didn't mention anything regarding his previous years, or where he grew up or anything about his parents and she didn't ask.

Bella's alarm forced her out of her peaceful sleep and she let out a little moan.

" _Listen baby, ain't no mountain high, ain't no valley, ain't no river wide enough ba-_ "

She reached over and turned off Marvin Gaye and rolled her eyes slightly. Edward had professed a zealous hate for the song, but Bella couldn't find it in herself to change the alarm. Especially because now when she heard it, she thought of Edward's annoyed growl and pout and the mental image made her giggle to herself.

Bella slowly got ready for her day, ignoring the ache in her lower back which had accompanied three days of lounging around on a rug and sofa. It was a beautiful day outside and she thought about how she would be able to have lunch outdoors. With a groan she then remembered that it was the first of the month and that meant a meeting with all of the senior partners in the Chicago firm.

By the time she arrived to the office, she had much less spring in her step. Bella hated the meetings with a passion. Yes, they were all the best and brightest that the firm had to offer, but it was still a glorified staff meeting and sometimes it could take hours. Bella was not prepared to listen to her colleagues rambling for hours on end.

Today was also the day that the second round of interns started for the summer. For the most part, Bella had delegated their orientation and onboarding to some of her HR associates, Megan and Justine, so she didn't really have much to worry about regarding that. Alice, Emmett, Jacob Black and several other directors had already gotten their interns and now Jasper, Bella, Mike from accounting, and the ISC were set to get the rest.

Rosalie was waiting for her when she got into work.

"Someone's looking well rested," she said with a smirk, handing her a latte as was their first of the month tradition.

"Back at ya," Bella chuckled, taking a sip of the warm liquid. "Did you need the three days to recover?"

Rosalie at least blushed in response to Bella's teasing. "I may be a lightweight, but I don't usually get too hungover. After Saturday morning I was good to go!"

Bella grinned.

"What about you? I heard you needed some extra attention Friday night yourself…" she said with another knowing smirk.

For a brief moment, Bella was confused and panicked that she knew something. She then remembered that Emmett had assumed Bella had been answering a booty call when he dropped her off. That had seemed like a such a better idea at the time than it did now.

"If you call me Booty Call Bella, I'm firing your ass," Bella threatened, not bothering to deny it.

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "You're no fun."

"Emmett is rubbing off on you," responded Bella pointedly.

Rosalie's eyes lit up and Bella just grinned and shook her head to herself as Rose told her about all that they did during the weekend. They had been out and about for the entire weekend, enjoying the first real weekend of summer to the fullest. It was a stark contrast to how Bella had spent hers, but she found she did not mind in the slightest.

"Has Megan or Justine come by at all this morning?" Bella asked.

Rose shook her head. "Nope, are we expecting them to?"

"Well no, not necessarily," Bella said tentatively. "It's just that I don't think IS-"

"Oh Bella, thank God you're here!"

Bella and Rose turned from Rose's desk to see a frantic young woman rushing towards them. Megan was one of the HR associates that Bella had hired last year and she was pretty good at what she did and Bella felt comfortable delegating to her…usually.

"That's more so what I was expecting…" Bella muttered to a confused Rosalie as Megan approached them rapidly.

"What's wrong?" she asked, taking a sip of her sugary drink.

"The interns are arriving soon and the Investigation and Specialized Crime division were…not expecting them."

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Yes they are." She had confirmed with several members of that department.

Megan cringed. "Well…not all of them are."

Bella saw immediately where this was going and almost rolled her eyes. If she had to guess, she would assume that Edward had come to work today, despite the concussion.

"Mr. Masen, is…um, not happy."

"He's never happy…" Rosalie muttered under her breath. Bella gave her a sharp glance at the inappropriate comment before turning back to a heavily breathing Megan.

"What happened?" Bella prompted.

"Well I went in to his office this morning to ensure that he would be available this afternoon to meet the interns that his division is getting and he kinda shouted at me…a lot. And there was, um, colorful language…and I'm pretty sure there were some threats too but I'm not positive on that one."

Bella inhaled deeply as Rosalie snorted in dislike.

Megan looked like she was going to cry.

It was a common reaction for people after talking to Edward.

"What was his problem specifically?" Bella wondered, though she had a fairly good guess.

"Um, something about 'a vehement lack of trust for know-nothing Ivy League trust fund babies who wouldn't know their head from their ass if you made them write a 15-page report on it,'" she muttered, trying to recall his exact language.

"Was that all?" she asked dryly.

"That along with an 'adamant refusal to hand hold any spoiled brats.' He says he doesn't trust them to be involved in any of their cases, which he said are all sensitive in nature. He feels there is not a 'single conceivable purpose' that he could find for them in his division since he 'has little confidence they even know how to use a fu-freaking stapler.'"

"Of course," Bella muttered mostly to herself.

"He is just nastier than ever today…" Megan finished. "So I don't know what to do."

"The interns will still be assigned to that division," Bella said simply. "Don't bother Mr. Masen with them. Have them report directly to Hampshire and Weber and tell them to stay out of Masen's way. Impress upon them that confidentiality and the utmost professionalism is expected or they will find themselves without a position."

Megan's eyes widened as she took in everything Bella was saying and then nodded.

"I will be in a meeting for much of the afternoon," Bella continued. "If you have additional problems, handle them to the best of your ability and let Rosalie know. I will meet with the HR interns after the meeting and introduce myself."

Rose's lips curled up in disdain but she didn't say anything else. Megan gave another nod before darting away with a bit more franticness than Bella thought appropriate, but she figured she was flustered after her interaction with Edward so she cut her some slack.

"Trust Masen to ruin everyone's buzz after a beautiful weekend…" Rose muttered before sitting back down to her desk.

Bella didn't bother chiding her for the comment or correcting the fact that it was really just Megan's buzz that he had diminished. Not that that really meant anything because what the hell did buzz matter? Instead, she went into her office and looked over to make sure all of the interns proper forms had gone through and they were all set to begin their employment.

By the time she was finished with that, it was nearly time for the dreaded meeting. With a heavy sigh and the last gulp of her latte, she headed over to the biggest conference room the firm had, down on the 32nd floor. There were already several of the senior partners gathering, most older and chatting about their recent golf scores.

Jasper and Emmett had already selected a spot opposite of where Carlisle sat at the large table. They perked up when Bella took a seat next to the blonde. They chatted about their weekend briefly while Emmett gave her a knowing smirk. Or at least it was knowing to the best of his knowledge. Alice joined them shortly after, taking a seat next to Bella. They were the youngest women in the room but they held their own.

"I have a good feeling about this meeting!" she said cheerily, "I bet it'll be productive."

There was a collective groan from Emmett and Bella in obvious disagreement. Jasper just smiled across Bella at his fiancé indulgently. "I'm sure you're right."

Emmett coughed, "Whipped," into his arm but then straightened the sleeves of his tailored suit and sat up professionally. Jasper rolled his eyes but didn't say anything as Carlisle entered the room with an easy smile.

A few people kissed his ass for a couple minutes as the rest of the senior partners filled in the empty spots around the large conference room table. Bella eyed them warily and wished she had more coffee.

There was Mike from accounting who had prematurely graying hair but a wealth of experience. Bella's boss, Victoria, sat next to him, her graying hair dyed red but also with plenty of experience in her field. The Chief Financial Officer, Aro, was near Carlisle, and Bella did somewhat like him even if he was a little on the creepier side. He kept to himself for the most part, and the closer towards retirement he got, the less he was in the office. Jasper was adopting more and more of Aro's duties, on top of everything else he was doing.

Next to Aro there was the Chief Marketing Officer who Alice reported to, Rebecca; they got along much better than Bella and Victoria did. Marcus, the VP of International Development was on the other side of Emmett and he looked like he'd just been somewhere near the equator.

And next to him was Jacob Black, and frankly Bella was just not a fan of his. He was the Chief Information Officer and he very much the epitome of privilege. He hadn't quite hit 40 and thought of himself as the firm's golden boy. He had come from old money and had the best education money could buy. He thought the world was at his finger tips, especially after he got promoted to the CIO when his successor stepped down. He was an arrogant bastard and Bella was sure he had his eyes on Carlisle's job in the future.

Eventually, Carlisle sat down and gave everyone in the room a warm smile. "Hello everyone. I trust you all had pleasant weekends and enjoyed the beautiful weather that we had. We have some important things to discuss this afternoon and I'm grateful in advance for your attention."

They went over several things, each less important than the previous, in Bella's mind. Alice excitedly revealed the new website design and pointed out some important new features for them to note to their clients. Jacob cockily described one of the new global customer software. Marcus reported on some of the new offices around the world that Cullen Consulting had just opened. Bella gave a quick (and grudging) recap of the interns who were starting as well as a few other new hires. Aro reported his analysis on the first quarter's numbers, for the second time, considering they did that last month.

Bella was growing more annoyed as the minutes continued to drag on. She maintained a level of professional interest but did not chime in when others would comment or ask questions. She met Carlisle's gaze at one point and he gave her a warm smile and slight nod of the head. She figured that he was encouraged about their relationship after she had asked him to help her last night when she needed a ride.

"Alright, thank you all for those stellar contributions," Carlisle said with an easy grin once Aro had returned to his seat. "At this time, I'd like to open it up to any concerns anyone has, or any trends they've noticed, or anything they'd like to bring to light; we're all here to listen."

Bella hated this part. This was just an invitation for a bitch fest to begin and usually anything that was brought up was a none issue and people just liked to hear the sound of their voice.

For once, though, everyone remained silent.

Bella dared herself to hope that the meeting was then to be concluded. She sat towards the edge of her chair in excitement and head Jasper chuckle under his breath at her excitement.

"Well, if no-"

"Actually, I have something, Mr. Cullen," Jacob interrupted with a cocky smile. "If that's alright, of course."

Carlisle nodded. "Of course."

"I have been noticing an alarming trend with one of the members of the Investigation and Specialized Crime division," he began. "I have received several complaints from various members of the staff that Edward Masen has stepped out of line time and time again. I've turned my head over and over again but I think it's time to discuss termination."

Bella's jaw almost dropped. There were murmurs of agreement from various people around the table who recognized his name; it was mostly the younger staff members with less authority that were murmuring in agreement because she figured Edward rarely interacted with the C-Suite members.

 _"I've also gotten complaints…"_

 _"His attitude is completely unprofessional."_

 _"My secretary refuses to speak to him."_

Carlisle cleared his throat. "That's a serious course of action to suggest for a partner in this firm," he said, pointedly reminding them of his position. Edward was not a senior partner like all of them in the room, but she figured it was only a matter of time.

"I understand the implications," Jacob said, thriving on the courage that the mumbles of agreement had given him. "However, he is toxic for the culture we are striving to create in this amazing business and I, for one, do not feel comfortable sending any of my employees to interact with him."

Bella gritted her teeth and said nothing.

"Why is that?" Carlisle prompted.

"He's verbally abusive!" Jacob accused. "He constantly berates the intelligence of all of our employees and repeatedly makes other staff members cry. That's not normal. People are afraid of him; they have no desire to collaborate with him. Frankly, I don't trust the guy. I think he was something to hide. Either that or he had some serious anger management problems. Either way, I don't think he belongs at our firm."

"One of my interns has expressed discomfort about him," Rebecca added thoughtfully. Victoria looked thoughtful as she listened to those around her, but Bella could see she wasn't prepared to contribute to the conversation.

"Mine too," Mike added. "Says he blew up at him for incorrectly formatting one of the financial statements."

Jacob then nodded over in Emmett's direction. "He handled McCarthy's intern completely unprofessionally and it's not the first time he's taken disciplinary action for such insignificant things such as that."

Bella had had more than enough.

"Insignificant?" she burst. "His intern broke confidentiality regarding highly sensitive information about clients. Our clients trust us with their information and our reputation is built on that trust. Masen had every right to fire him, and he simply put him on probation; I sure as hell would have terminated him right then and there!" she exclaimed with fire.

Jacob stared at her in shock.

Well, everyone in the room was doing that actually.

Bella then looked over at Mike. "He was also well within his rights to yell at your intern. We shouldn't be in the habit of allowing mistakes on God damn financial statements! In that highly specialized line of work which is vastly different than our usual form of consulting, there isn't any room for error and I hardly think that's something that anyone in the ISC should be punished for enforcing!"

"And further more, we are a Fortune 500 company, not a damn nursery school. If your employees don't have thick enough skin to handle a dispute with a co-worker then they don't belong here. We do not have the time, nor is it certainly our jobs, to coddle our employees. I don't care if they don't want to work with him; they're all adults and they can figure it out!"

Bella was beyond seething at this point. "Frankly, this is an absolute waste of my time as well! Sure, we boast of having a close-knit company culture, but we're in this business first and foremost to make money! If any of you listened to what Aro had been saying, the ISC division has had incredible margins in the past few quarters and that's almost exclusively run by Masen. He gets his job done, and he gets it done well and he actually has remarkably high ratings from his subordinates about the job he does as a manager. So what if he doesn't play nice and won't chat with you all about your golf scores and children? He's here to work and he does a damn good job of it."

"So no, I don't think we should terminate Edward Masen's employment," Bella said coldly. "I think we should promote him."

The conference room fell silent as everyone either looked at Bella or determinedly stared down at the table, having agreed with Jacob's original statement and now were properly chastised.

"If that's settled then," Carlisle said as if nothing had happened, "I think that concludes this meeting. As always, feel free to stop by my office at any time with any thoughts or concerns. Thanks for the hard work."

He then stood up and others followed. Bella was pushing out of her seat as soon as he had risen.

"Bells, what the hell was that?" Alice hissed at her, grabbing her wrist. Emmett was giving her a mirrored look while Jasper's expression remained neutral and contemplative.

"I just hate Black," Bella mumbled lamely, grabbing her wrist from Alice and snatching her leather folder before leaving the conference room in the nearest glass door. She was shaking, her body surging from the adrenaline and anger that was still going through her.

Bella took the stairs two at a time and kept climbing until she couldn't climb anymore. She reached the rooftop terrace in no time and burst outside. It was an outdoor space set up for the employees to relax in during any free time, but it was empty with the ominous clouds that were rolling in over the beautiful day, signaling a storm arriving.

How dare Black say those things about Edward? She was beyond furious. The man had taken a fucking bullet for this firm and for his job. He put himself in danger everyday as an employee of this firm. He wasn't friendly with people because he couldn't trust anyone. He kept everyone at a distance for their own protection, because he was involved with fucking mafia at the request of this firm.

And in turn, the firm branded him the pariah. They talked shit behind his back and complained about him all the time. They didn't know what he went through, but Bella did and she wanted to scream at all of them about how unfair it was and how stupid and pig headed they were all being. But she couldn't. Even just yelling at Jacob had been dangerous, but she had been unable to contain herself any longer.

Bella leaned on the railing, seething. Her hair whipped around as the wind increased and the sky grew grayer. She felt a chill spread through the air, but she was too mad to move. And at the heart of that, she wanted to cry. She wanted to sob at the injustice that was Edward.

But she didn't.

After some undeterminable amount of time passed, Bella heard the door open behind her. She didn't turn because she figured it was about the time that the interns would be getting their tour. Instead, she let out a big sigh, feeling some of the adrenaline finally begin to leave her body as she prepared to return to her office due to the arrival of the new employees.

"It's ironic that glass walls and doors can feel so stifling."

Bella's head turned at the silky sound of Edward's voice. He slowly approached her, moving carefully to try and hide his limp. He was dressed in a well pressed gray suit with a white shirt and dark red tie. His bruised face was well hidden under some type of concealer, because she knew how bruised it had been yesterday when she left.

She didn't know what to say, so she glared out at the graying sky over the the city of Chicago, not bothering to tame the wind blowing her hair around her.

"If you're here to yell at me about the interns, they're staying," she muttered.

Edward sighed but didn't say anything as he leaned against the railing next to her.

When the silence lasted, Bella looked over at him.

"You know," she accused finally.

"Whitlock felt he owed me for my help with his project," Edward explained, staring out to the city as well. "He informed me of Black's proposal."

Bella felt the anger swell inside of her again.

"You're not getting fired," Bella replied with simmering hostility in her voice.

"He also informed me of your apparent defense," Edward commented.

Bella was silent for a moment.

"You're not getting fired," she repeated firmly.

Edward stared out at the clouds, his own unruly hair getting tossed by the increasing winds. He then sighed and looked over at her. Bella hesitantly met his gaze and felt some of her anger melt away.

"Swan," he said carefully. "I told you I can advocate for myself."

"You weren't in there!" she protested.

"Carlisle is as well aware of my position as you are," Edward said, not angrily, but not necessarily gently either. "He had it under control."

"I wasn't going to let them slander your reputation!" she exclaimed indignantly.

Edward let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair, trying in vain to get it under control.

"My reputation…is not something you should concern yourself with," he finally said.

"They can't just treat you like shit because you're not nice to their interns, all of which could frankly use a kick in the ass," Bella said angrily. "You might be fine with that, but I am not," she added fiercely.

Edward was again silent and they heard the distinct sounds of thunder begin to rumble.

"I am not prepared to respond to any of this," Edward finally admitted, rubbing at his jaw slowly. "No one has ever so stupidly and so adamantly risen to my defense before."

Bella opened her mouth but he interrupted her.

"It was stupid," he repeated, meeting her gaze. "People will grow suspicious if they think you are suddenly friends with the asshole on the 33rd floor. They will ask questions and none of that speculation is safe nor welcome. It's best that they know me as an asshole, because then they avoid me. And quite frankly, I don't have the time or patience to nurture their morons of interns."

Bella let out a defeated sigh and lowered her head, the anger leaving her body as she realized he was right.

She then felt him touch her chin gently with some fingertips and softly tip her head up to look at him, which she did, her eyes widening in surprise.

"It was stupid," he repeated quietly. "But, I…I can't say I'm not somehow grateful."

Bella offered him a weak smile.

"You're a good person to have in my corner, Swan."

* * *

So, back to the real world for these two. How do you think that went for them? As far as the partners of Cullen Consulting, I doubt this is the last we will be seeing of them some of them...

Alice and Jasper's wedding is up next. All the partners got an invite, did they not? I wonder what, if anything, might convince Mr. Masen to make an appearance.

As always, drop me your thoughts and questions, I do so love to read them.


	17. Chapter 16

Alice and Jasper's wedding was excessive.

That was the only word Bella could ultimately describe it as. Yes, it was absolutely beautiful and breathtaking and stunning and as Bella had drunkenly described it, probably Chicago's wedding of the century. But at the heart of it all, it was excessive.

They got married in a big ass cathedral in the middle of downtown Chicago. It seated 450 people and by Bella's guess, the seats were close to full. There were gold engravings all over the place and the building seemed to proudly boast its extravagance. Despite that, however, when Bella was standing next to Alice during their vows, she had shed some brave tears at looking at how happy her friends were.

Esme, however, had shed the most tears throughout the day.

Since Alice's parents were both dead, she treated Carlisle and Esme like real parents even more than the other three of them who still had living, -albeit, distant- parents. Esme had been in the room with them getting their hair and makeup done and she had flittered around the church beforehand, making sure the area was perfect. Emmett had walked Esme down the aisle before Jasper and his mom and it looked like she was doing everything she could not to cry.

By the time Alice waltzed gracefully down the long aisle on Carlisle's arm, she was gone. Frankly, so was Bella.

It was a beautiful ceremony and Bella had genuinely smiled throughout all of the photographs that were taken afterward.

At one point when they were standing in the grassy park waiting while the newlyweds took pictures with Jasper's family, Emmett had easily scooped her up in his giant arms and she had let out a loud squeal.

"Emmett!" she said with a swat.

"Bells, who the hell are we going to get you hitched to now that you're the only one left?" he asked with a smirk.

"I am not the only one!" she protested, whacking him with her bouquet. "You are not hitched either."

"Oh, I'm going to marry Rosie," he said seriously.

Bella paused in her flailing and gapped.

"I know it's only been like a month, but I'd marry that girl tomorrow if she said yes."

Despite herself, Bella leaned in and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a small hug and kiss on the cheek. "I'm happy for you, Em."

When Emmett's response was just to grin at her. Eventually Bella whacked him again. "Owe! What was that for?"

"Put me down, you oaf!" Bella replied, still dangling from the air in his arms.

Emmett obliged and returned her to solid ground. However, before Bella could escape, Emmett pulled Esme out of a nowhere and threw an arm around her.

"Don't who you think Bella needs a young stud, Mae?" Emmett asked conspiringly.

"Oh absolutely!" Esme exclaimed enthusiastically. She was far too pleased with herself that Rose and Emmett seemed to be working perfectly.

Carlisle, who was standing next to Esme, let out a chuckle. They had put aside their differences for the time being, but sometimes Bella still felt anger towards the man.

"I am perfectly fine," Bella said primly.

Emmett snorted.

"What about Mike from accounting?" Esme suggested, unhelpfully.

"Next."

"No."

"Hell no!"

Bella looked over at Carlisle and Emmett who had interjected their own responses. Emmett gave an unapologetic shrug and Carlisle looked displeased about the idea of the two of them together.

"We're not doing this today," Bella replied grumpily.

"Well, sweetie, there's no time like the present. Weddings are a perfect beginning for new relationships!" Esme said joyously.

"I miss my cat…" Bella muttered before being called over to take more photos with Alice.

Despite their badgering, it was kind of nice to spend time with Emmett, Esme, and Carlisle during the photos. They really were a little family and they even got a "family" photo of the six of them upon Alice's insistence. Bella had stood at the end next to Carlisle with the biggest smile of all.

Once the cocktail hour came, or rather, the end of it since they missed most of it due to pictures, Bella was groaning at the Whitlock's insistence of inviting half of the firm. Instead of the event being a fun, let loose evening, it had turned into a bit of a networking hour. Almost all of the partners that had been invited, had accepted the invitation and brought along their spouses and Bella felt it was her duty as the dateless member of the bridal party to speak with the lot of them.

During dinner, Bella and Emmett had been forced to make speeches.

They each stood up on either side of Alice and Jasper. "We're giving a joint speech this evening, since neither the bride nor the groom trust us to go solo," Emmett explained with a large eye roll which got the entire reception area to chuckle.

"And we're here to tell you to tell you the real beginning of Alice and Jasper," Bella added with a smirk.

Alice's eyes widened and Jasper let out a loud laugh.

"These two lovebirds hated each other."

"Positively despised each other."

"Alice thought Jasper was incompetent…"

"…and Alice annoyed the absolute hell out of Jasper."

And they continued on, giving a few quotes that they remembered from the newlyweds while the crowd laughed. Jasper laughed along loudly while Alice turned a bright shade of red but would laugh despite herself.

"And then!" Emmett proclaimed dramatically.

"They show up one day with giant grins on their respective faces all day long!"

"And when we finally asked what was up-"

"Alice says, 'I went on a date with Jasper and he's just the most amazing person I've ever met.'"

"And Jasper proceeds to tell me that that Alice is the girl for him."

Bella and Emmett's story was fiery and filled with joking exasperation and teasing, but everyone seemed to laughing along with their bantering.

"Emmett and I were so shocked and confused and we really just didn't know what to even do or say in response to that-"

"So we went out and drank."

"And we're still confused about what happened," Bella concluded. "And still drinking!" she added with a laugh, holding up her flute.

"But we're sure glad it did, because these two are perfect for each other," Emmett says with a giant shit eating grin on his face.

The speeches then broke off and Emmett gave a short, yet heartfelt congratulations before Bella did the same, toning back the sarcasm 100% as she wished them the best of what the world could offer them. Their toast ended with a kiss from the bride and groom and hug between Emmett and Bella.

Now that Rosalie was in the picture, the days of Emmett being Bella's stand in boyfriend were gone. She was so happy for the two of them, but now that he had someone, she really was the odd girl out.

During dinner, Bella had been unable to help herself from scanning the dozens of tables filled with people. She had never heard whether or not Edward had RSVP'd his attendance for the evening or not, and she allowed herself a small amount of hope as her eyes scanned over the venue looking for his unruly bronze hair. After surveying the room twice, she came to the conclusion that he had not come, despite being a partner and automatically receiving an invitation.

While Bella was hardly surprised that he had no showed up, she was just a little disappointed. Everyone else was paired up, and Bella's most recent pair, had been Edward. The two of them made a good little team, and she was slightly disappointed that he had decided not to show, even though she had ultimately expected it.

Soon, the dances started. After about three of the traditional dances, the floor was opened to everyone. Bella went over to the blessedly open bar and got herself another glass of wine, fighting the urge to get something stronger because it felt somewhat like a work event to her with all of her colleagues around.

"Bella!" Esme called in a sing-song voice. Bella turned her head from the bar and saw Esme approaching her with none other than the infamous CIO, Jacob Black, trailing behind her.

 _Oh fuck me_ , she groaned internally.

"I can't keep up with Mr. Black here," Esme said with a giggle. "Why don't you take a spin with him?"

Jacob's expression remained neutral so Bella did her best to make hers stay the same. Bella raised her wine glass apologetically, gesturing that she couldn't dance.

"Oh you shouldn't have, dear," Esme said with a smile, snatching the full glass of wine out of her hand. Bella's eyes narrowed for the briefest of seconds before giving Jacob a polite smile.

"Shall we?" he asked with a cocky smirk.

"Sure," Bella replied lamely, taking his warm, large hand and following him onto the dance floor.

"Beautiful wedding," Black commented lightly as they got into a dancing position. Bella remained as far away from him as possible. They had not spoken since she had chewed him out about Edward in their last staff meeting.

Bella gave a nod in reply but didn't say anything, glancing anywhere else but him.

"You know, I've been thinking, Isabella, about the last time we talked," he eventually said.

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Jacob nodded. "I just want you to know, that no one can threaten or intimidate you in the firm. If you feel unsafe, you can tell me. I'll always be there to help you, no matter what he has said to you."

Bella's other eyebrow rose.

"Excuse me?" she asked icily.

"If Masen's said something to make you scared of him, you can tell us. We'll help you, you don't need to to defend him, no matter what he has on you."

Bella was furious.

"So, you think the only reason I defended Masen at our meeting is because he's blackmailing me or threatening me?" she clarified coldly.

Jacob had the grace to look unsure of himself at her harsh words. "I don't know why else you would-"

"I refuse to do this," Bella snapped. "Masen is an exceptional employee and for you to continue to say otherwise is nothing short of slander and I will be speaking to Victoria and Carlisle about it if you continue to spew gossip and cause unwarranted fear about him. Do I make myself clear?"

"You can't tell me he's not an ass," Jacob said, ignoring her.

 _You're the ass_ , Bella thought to herself grumpily.

"Besides, I didn't mean to make you upset," he said, his cocky smirk returning while Bella fought the urge to throw up. "Mrs. Cullen seems to think we'd make a good pair, and I'd be remiss in upsetting the boss's wife."

Bella gritted her teeth and smiled politely. "Esme is on the mission to find anyone for me. I fear she may be casting too wide of net."

Before Jacob could fully grasp the meaning of her words, Carlisle appeared behind him and tapped his shoulder. "May I steal Miss Swan?" he asked with an easy smile.

"Of course, sir," Jacob said, tripping over himself to do as Carlisle asked and move out of the way.

Bella sagged against Carlisle in relief when he moved confidently into a dancing position. "Oh thank God," she muttered.

"We haven't finalized our succession planning, so I really can't have you killing my CIO," Carlisle commented with a chuckle.

"Tell Esme to lay off on her efforts," Bella grumbled.

Carlisle at least laughed as they moved lightly around the dance floor. Carlisle looked admittedly dashing in his tux, and Bella looked radiant in her floor length, navy, chiffon bridesmaid dress.

"Will do," he finally said with a laugh.

"He's an ass," Bella complained.

"He thinks Edward's an ass," Carlisle replied neutrally.

"And he's determined to let us all know," she said acidly.

"I'll speak with him, eventually," Carlisle promised lightly. "You really should leave Edward's defense up to me. People are going to get suspicious if you continue to defend his honor."

Bella was silent as she contemplated the fact that she did not trust him to actually defend Edward's honor. They were having a relatively pleasant evening and she didn't want to ruin it.

After the song ended, Bella turned back towards the bar. "Your wife stole my drink so I need another…"

Carlisle laughed and went to go find his wife while Bella stalked towards the bar. She'd be getting something stronger than wine, her coworkers be damned.

"Jameson on ice please," she said to the bartender, deciding whiskey would be appropriate after that dance.

"Make that two."

Bella turned behind her to see none other than Edward Masen standing behind her in his usual immaculate suit. The only difference that she could see is that his hair was gelled and parted in a stylish way that he didn't usually wear to work. He fit in seamlessly yet stuck out horribly. She supposed the main difference between him and the rest of the guests is that he looked as if he found the whole ordeal relatively distasteful.

"What are you doing here?" Bella asked in surprise.

Edward's lips set into a line. "Carlisle felt it was prudent that I make an appearance," he drawled.

"Of course he did," Bella mumbled. The bartender quickly returned with their drinks and Edward tossed him a twenty before turning and taking a large swing of his alcohol. Bella followed suit, feeling the warm liquid burn through her.

"Strong choice of drink," Edward remarked, nodding at her.

"Hazard of being forced to dance with the CIO," she replied with a grimace.

Edward frowned and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Tell me you didn't gallantly defend my name once again."

Bella was silent.

"Swan," Edward said warningly.

"Do you want to get some air?" Bella asked, changing the subject. The amount of people in the room suddenly felt suffocating.

Edward eyed her cautiously for a moment before nodding.

With drinks in hand, Bella weaved through the people and found an exit that led to the golf course. It was dark and empty now that it was 10 o'clock at night, and all she could see were rolling green hills bathed in the night. Without a word, they started to walk.

"When did you get here?" she asked conversationally.

"Early enough for me to catch your toast," he said vaguely.

Bella chuckled. "They really did hate each other."

"Mrs. Whitlock seems to have that reaction with a lot of people," Edward commented, taking another swing of his drink.

Bella said nothing as she realized he was aware of her friend's strong dislike for him.

"She comes around," Bella finally said, taking her own sip.

They were silent as they continued their leisure walk down the dark fairway. They could hear music echoing from the ballroom, dancing along the night air. Bella looked around at the manicured nature in the heart of the city and then closed her eyes and smiled, letting the breeze tickle the tendrils of her hair that had escaped from her bun. It was a warm night, but the breeze swept gently across them, making the temperature perfect.

"Would you like to dance, Swan?"

Bella's eyes opened and she looked over at Edward who was looking at her in a way that she had never seen before. In his eyes, she saw some type of determination as well as something she would say was affection if she saw it in anyone else's eyes.

"I would," Bella agreed with a soft smile, setting down her drink and kicking off her heels in the grass.

An Ed Sheeran song began to play in the ballroom and the sounds drifted out to the 8th hole as Bella got situated in Edward's arms. He took her hand gently in his and placed his hand on her waist as she lifted her own up to set on his shoulder. Upon feeling his gentle, yet sure touch, she gave him a dazzling smile as they began to move.

Edward's eyes were closed for a moment, almost as if he was in pain. Before Bella could ask, however, he opened his eyes and then pulled her in even closer so that his hand was on her lower back and their hands were tucked in towards them. Bella's body sung at the contact.

"You're…exceptionally beautiful," he finally said in a voice barely above a whisper.

Bella granted him with another big smile, unable to help herself. She revealed in the feeling of being pressed against his chest and tucked safely in his arms, away from view of everyone else who didn't know this man like she did.

"Thank you," she said, almost shyly.

They continued to sway, Bella almost swooning at being held so gently by the hated man.

"I'm glad you came," she admitted, giving his hand a slight squeeze.

She felt a squeeze back.

"I keep finding myself with a foreign desire to…see you."

Edward seemed so unsure of himself as he admitted this. Well, as unsure of himself as a man like Edward could be. She gazed in his eyes and saw the unmistakable affection as well as what looked like something akin to fear.

"I understand that," she finally replied gently. "I hoped you would show up. I've missed you."

"You've seen me," he protested quietly in confusion.

It had been three weeks since Memorial day weekend and the two saw each other for work, but nothing else.

"No, _now_ I'm seeing you," she disagreed, unable to help herself from moving her hand up to cup his soft cheek. "I've missed the you that only I know."

Edward let out a little sigh, his eyes closing at his touch. Bella was confused that the sigh sounded sad.

"Swan, I'm the worst possible person for you," he finally said slowly, opening his eyes.

Bella shrugged. "I disagree."

"I'm a monster," he muttered, averting his eyes from her gaze.

"That's not true," she said gently. "And that's never been true."

"You should be scared of me," he said, still glancing behind her so as not to meet her gaze.

"I am," she admitted, moving his face to look her in the eyes. "So scared for you."

"That's not what I meant," he said, his voice sounding pained.

"I don't care," she said stubbornly.

Edward was silent.

"Ever since that night…I just have wanted to be around you. Be around just you and none of the other bullshit that you've gotten so caught up in," Bella admitted.

"You shouldn't want that."

Bella paused and looked up at him, searching his face for any indication of his thoughts. Edward met her gaze and in his eyes Bella saw a sadness that broke her heart.

"I will leave you alone if you want," Bella finally said quietly. "I'll stop pestering you, and I'll stop with the coffees, and I'll stop defending you…I'll stop it all if that's what you want." As she said the words, she felt herself grow sadder and sadder.

Edward closed his eyes tightly and exhaled through his nose, not loosening his hold on her. For that, Bella was glad.

"That's not what I want."

Bella held her breath.

"You're so maddeningly…good. It doesn't make sense that someone as light and pure and overwhelmingly good as you would want to be around me," Edward said in a strained voice. "You shouldn't want to spend time me; all I bring is danger. But…I don't have the strength to push you away."

Bella moved in even closer at his words.

"I feel like all of this time, I'm suffocating…and when I'm with you… it seems like you're the air that saves me."

Bella said nothing in response to his words. She was speechless. No one had ever said something so profoundly moving to her before. She had a hard time swallowing.

They continued to move back and forth on the tee box as the song began to bridge towards an ending. Bella felt so completely content in his arms in a way that she'd never before felt. She never wanted to move outside of his safe embrace. She never wanted him to leave her side where she knew he was safe and cared for.

And oh was he cared for.

As the song ended, they slowly stopped moving. Bella stared up into his eyes and felt her heart swell even more for the man behind the green irises.

"Can I kiss you?" she breathed, inches away from his lips.

Edward's eyes simultaneously widened and darkened.

Without another word, he tilted his head down and gently, so gently, captured her lips with his own as he pulled her even closer to him. Bella clung to him as she pressed against his soft lips.

The kiss was brief but ignited a part of Bella's soul that she didn't even know was there.

Edward pulled away first and without a word, pulled her even closer, wrapped her into his arms against his chest and gently cupping the back of her head as she snuggled into his neck.

For an unmeasurable amount of time, they clung to each other in a way that only two people who so desperately needed each other could.

* * *

Awe. These two...love them as much as I do?

Not so sure it's gonna be smooth sailing for these two. I'm thinking the Brigados are going to be wanting to talk to Edward soon enough, but we'll see...

Send me your reviews and have a very happy Sunday (or whatever day of the week it is that you're reading this).


	18. Chapter 17

The Monday that followed Alice and Jasper's wedding had much of Cullen Consulting HQ feeling a little more sluggish than usual. It seemed that many of the partners had enjoyed the open bar and were still paying for it even a day and a half later. Alice and Jasper had jetted off to their honeymoon the previous day and had safely arrived on a tropical island for some much needed R & R.

Usually, Bella would be one of the sluggish ones, as the weekend had been exhausting from start to finish. Yet when her alarm woke her up in the morning, she actually got up excitedly as the events of Saturday evening flooded through her head.

Edward had kissed her.

They had danced slowly together on a golf course, out of sight from anyone and everyone, wrapped in the cover of night. She could practically feel the way his arms had molded protectively around her, so unexpectedly.

And after that, something changed in their relationship.

Edward hadn't stayed at the reception for very long, not that that surprised Bella. After they eventually made their way back into the ballroom, Edward had lingered only long enough to say a cordial hello to a few of the partners who he tolerated as well as Carlisle. Bella saw Jasper spot the man and thank him for coming, completely ignoring all of Edward's non-verbal's that screamed he would rather be anywhere else.

So. She was excited to see him again, despite herself. She knew going into the office though, that she should hardly expect much. He had made it perfectly clear that he did not want anyone to suspect an association between the two of them and so she didn't anticipate Edward actually showing any sign of affection for her in any regard.

She was just excited to be near him.

On one of her trips to the bathroom in the morning, she had caught sight of his bronze head of hair, leaning towards his laptop with a fierce scowl on his face as he looked at the numbers. He hadn't looked up to see her, but she had grinned a little bit to herself.

After lunch, she couldn't really focus on anything and she got very antsy, so under the ruse of distributing progress reports regarding the summer interns, she made her way over to Edward's office.

Bella was just about to enter his room undetected when she heard a throat clear.  
"Eh-hem?"

Edward's assistant, the one Bella had insisted he be assigned, was looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you have an appointment with Mr. Masen?" she asked. She was an older woman and was somewhat of a legend, really, in the company for her eye for detail and fiery personality.

"I just have to drop some things off," Bella replied sweetly, trying not to show that she was intimidated.

"Mr. Masen has asked not to be disturbed."

Bella glanced over at the man who was bent over his desk, not noticing her. "I'll just be a moment."

"I can give them to him," the secretary insisted, holding out her hand for the files in Bella's arms.

"I'm afraid there's some things that need an explanation to go along with them," Bella said, losing her patience. Before Arlene could protest more, Bella opened Edward's office door and walked in, closing it immediately behind her.

Edward paused in his writing and then looked up at her with an eyebrow raised in surprise.

"I can't believe you had the audacity to tell me my secretary is a guard dog," Bella accused as way of a greeting.

Edward leaned back in his chair and smirked. "I seem to recall a dreadfully meddlesome woman insisting that I have said secretary."

Bella rolled her eyes and didn't dignify his antagonizing with a response. She was pleased that he did seem to be in a good enough mood, despite whatever frustrations a case was causing him.

"What are you working on?" she asked instead, moving towards his desk.

"Some rich old bastard down in Miami has decided that he wants to revamp his entire security system both for his residence and his software and digital technology. He wants proposed solutions, as well as thorough background checks of every person who has been employed for him in the past 10 years, as he suspects a nefarious plot on his fortune," Edward replied dryly.

"When does he want this by?" she asked, intrigued by his work.

"Tomorrow by the end of office hours," he intoned in irritation. "Eastern time," he added.

"Going to be a late night, then?" she asked with a wince.

"Undoubtedly."

Bella watched as Edward stoically ran his hand through his unruly hair, the very picture of irritation. It was probably a good thing that he had Arlene to prevent any unsuspecting employees from trying to bother him when he was in a foul mood.

"I'll reserve Conference Room B for the evening if you provide food," Bella said lightly.

Conference Room B was one of the only rooms in the building that did not contain a glass wall.

Edward looked at her, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Background checks are my thing," Bella said with a shrug.

From the way Edward was looking at her, she figured he hardly took that as a sufficient answer.

"I like sushi," Bella said with a precocious grin. She turned and left the office without another word, ignoring Arlene's scowl at her.

* * *

Some time later, Conference Room B was occupied with two incredibly intelligent humans, dozens of papers, two laptops, a tablet, and the unmistakable smell of seafood.

Bella was staring at the tablet, her eyebrows furrowed as she stared at the the screen.

"I thought background checks were your thing," Edward commented blandly, looking at her frustrated face.

"I don't understand this software!" Bella said with a huff, glaring at the screen.

Edward was silent but did raise both of his eyebrows at her. If she didn't know better, she would say he was amused. But with Edward Masen, one could never be too sure what the man was feeling.

In fact, Bella's coworkers assumed he didn't have feelings.

"And I'm still incredibly bothered we don't have this software in HR," she added, turning her glare over to him. They had something that searched people's online presence, but compared to the software in front of her it was absolutely primitive.

Apparently, the ISC division had a software system that allowed the user to search a name through a database that could pull up any time their name had mentioned online in the past 10 years, even if it had been deleted or if it was just a friend mentioning their names online. It flagged certain words and would pull up anything that was even slightly incriminating.

Bella loved it.

And didn't have it.

"Perhaps something can be arranged," Edward smirked. "Granted, that is you figure out how to properly use the system."

Bella rolled her eyes. "I'm working on it."

The pair fell silent and returned to their work. Bella continued to glare and poke at the tablet while Edward turned his attention to his laptop and would occasionally consult paper notes. They had been working since 5 o'clock when most of the other employees had left. They worked in a companionable silence, neither of them particularly unhappy to be there.

When Bella was confident Edward wasn't looking, she would steal a glance at him behind her curtain of hair. She would lower her eyes before he caught her looking at him, but he would occasionally catch her with a small smile on her face as she looked at the tablet in front of her. Edward's lips would then quirk into a small smirk and his gaze would settle back onto his laptop before she caught him.

At one point, Bella's phone gave a gentle buzz from where she had set it on the table. She looked away from her work and over at the small device to see a picture of some ridiculously fruity, and ridiculously large margarita. She knew before checking that it was from Alice.

If Edward heard Bella's soft chuckle, he didn't let on. In fact, he stared with possibly more determination at the screen in front of him.

"The Whitlocks are enjoying their honeymoon," Bella explained, even though he had not asked.

"Ah," he said in understanding.

"As they should be…that wedding was ridiculous," Bella commented lightly, attempting to draw him into conversation at the expense of her friends.

"The new Mrs. Whitlock certainly has a lavish taste," Edward said, only a little bit of dislike seeping into his tone. "Something her new husband undoubtedly indulges her on."

"Undoubtedly," Bella agreed wryly.

"Still…" Edward continued. If Bella didn't know better she'd say he looked unsure of himself. "…it was a pleasant evening."

Bella couldn't stop the smile that spread on her face.

"I'd have to agree," she said softly, fighting to not make her smile bigger.

Bella was getting used to the fact that Edward maintained his guard at almost all hours of the day, especially when in the office. She'd seen a softer and almost more playful side both at his penthouse and at the wedding away from people, but while in Cullen Consulting, he was stiff and at times cold. Bella understood the necessity of it and it didn't bother her necessarily. She silently considered this before he called her from her thoughts.

"Swan," he said slowly, turning his full attention to her. "There's someth-"

Edward's voice was broken off by the buzzing of his own cell phone. Edward's eyes closed for just the briefest second as he gritted as his teeth, before he smoothly moved to answer his phone.

"Masen."

Bella watched with no small amount of trepidation as Edward's jaw set and he listened to whoever was on the other side of the line. Whoever it was did not have much to say because after about 10 seconds, Edward replied coldly, "I'll be there."

After disconnecting the phone call, Edward cursed under his breath to himself, "Fuck."

Bella watched as he started to move, staring at the mess in front of them as he slid his arms into his suit jacket and pushed a small black gun further into his waistband.

"I'll clean it all up," Bella offered softly, because it was all she could say.

Edward glanced sharply over at her and saw her worried gaze as she bit softly on her lower lip, the only outward expression of nervousness.

"Thank you," he muttered, standing up from the table.

As Edward turned and started to walk towards the door, Bella reached out as if on instinct to grab his hand. He looked at her in surprise, but her only answer was to give his warm hand a wordless squeeze and an encouraging nod.

Edward swallowed.

"I'll be back."

And Bella watched him leave.

* * *

Edward cursed when the assistant calling from a disposable cell phone told him his presence was requested at Casa de Padre's.

He hadn't been there since the last auction in which dozens of victims of the Brigado's expansive human trafficking ring were all sold to the highest bidder. By Edward's calculation, they had made upwards of hundreds of millions of dollars in that evening. It was evenings that dealt with the Brigado's other business facet that left Edward more unsettled than watching them kill people ever did.

Since they were at Casa de Padre's, Edward had a particularly bad feeling.

By the time Edward entered the back room in the high end strip club, there was a smoky haze settled into the spacious room. As any spy worth his salt would, Edward immediately scanned the room and counted the number of people and identifying features about each one of them.

In his brief scan, he noticed three naked women in various places, several men in suits, two of which Edward identified as Luca and Giovanni, white lines of cocaine separated and at the ready, oppressive cigar smoke and booze lying around. A few of the other men Edward thought he recognized from other operations, including the last auction.

"Masen!" Luca slurred.

Edward cleared his mind and allowed himself to smirk at the drunken Italian. "Luca."

"What are you drinking?" he asked, louder than necessary, alerting everyone of his presence. Luca stumbled over to all of the expensive liquor resting on the desk.

"Scotch," he replied. Never mind the fact that it was only Monday. No one else in the room seemed to care.

Luca poured a generous glass of the brown liquid and handed the tumbler over to the spy.

Figuring it best to accept the drink without protest, Edward lifted the glass to his lips and took a small swing as he looked around the room. "What can I do for you this evening, Luca?"

Edward was prepared to leek several tidbits of information about Cullen Consulting's knowledge of the mafia. Every day he was prepared in the event he was called, having carefully searched through all information he had access to and figured out which would be the least detrimental while still satisfying the mobsters.

His safety depended on it.

"Wanted to make sure you were still alive, man!" Luca exclaimed with a laugh. Edward guessed he was mixing drink and drugs.

"Alive and in the flesh," he said wryly.

"Giovanni figured you hadn't made it out that building when we had our Memorial Day fun," Luca said conspiring.

Edward's eyes narrowed to Giovanni's figure. He was sitting on a black leather couch with a completely naked woman sitting on his lap, running her hands through his greasy black hair.

"Touching," Edward intoned.

Giovanni glanced over his shoulder and gave Edward a cold look. The bronze haired man returned the stare, unflinching.

"Have a seat, Masen," Giovanni drawled.

He would rather not.

Luca laughed loudly and clapped Edward on the back. "Giovanni, let's not get ahead of ourselves!"

Impassively, Edward moved to the smooth leather sectional and took a graceful seat on the expensive material. Luca and another man got distracted and went to pour other drinks as Edward once again scanned the room while sipping his drink, mentally preparing his write up of the evening for Carlisle.

It was his sincere hope that he not be forced to partake in the decorative white lines. Drugs had never appealed him in the slightest, but he knew if asked, Edward would have little choice but to concede to appease the mobsters. It had been an occasion such as this that had left Edward in the bathroom floor of Cullen Consulting, enduring the effects of the heroin he had been essentially forced to inject in his blood stream.

Giovanni kept glancing over to Edward with a mixture of dislike as well some type of sick amusement. Edward ignored it and continued to examine the room casually, taking a cigar when offered and using it as a prop to smoke slowly.

To any outsider, he fit in seamlessly.

It did not escape his notice that he seemed to fit in better amongst these men than he did a few nights ago at the Whitlock nuptials.

With a silent sigh, Edward's eyes eventually settled on the young, naked women. She and one of the other women had caramel colored skin and appeared Hispanic. If he had to guess, Edward would imagine they were not here under legal means.

As if reading his thought, Luca drunkenly plopped down next to him and laughed. "Guatemala," he explained.

Edward nodded. "Ah."

"She's a treasure," Luca explained. "One of my guys there has had her for 10 years so she doesn't put up any fight anymore."

Not legal then.

"She fucking shouldn't," Luca continued with a grumble. "I pay him enough to break the bitches in."

Edward didn't comment, trying to memorize any details of her blank face.

"She's yours if you want," Luca offered jovially.

Edward cleared his throat, trying not to choke in surprise. "Indeed?"

Luca then let out a loud laugh that made Edward cringe. "Just for the evening, man. I know Father is generous with and you probably could afford her, but hate to tell you I'm not so sure I'll sell this one."

"She does appear satisfactory," he forced himself to say. "I can see why you wouldn't want to part with her."

"Pet!" Luca called in a coo. The woman looked over at both of them, her gaze neutral. Edward doubted Luca noticed the slight widening of her eyes at her apparent name. She was at their side on her knees in an instant. The other woman followed, also dropping to her knees by the couch.

"My treat," Luca grinned. "Call it compensation for any of the injuries you obtained in your work a few weeks ago."

After Luca spoke, he snapped at the girl. The girl's hand shot up to Luca's waistline and immediately when to where they were fastened.

Edward swallowed back the bile in his throat.

"You're too generous, Luca," he said. "I fear I cannot accept."

It was a risk on his part, but he had seen the way she had looked at him in fear, even if it was just for a brief second. It made him sick.

"So humble," Luca rolled his eyes. "I insist."

Edward opened his mouth but was cut off.

"Problem Masen?" Giovanni asked. Edward looked over to his left. The girl on top of that Italian was ferociously attacking his neck but Edward saw his hand move down to where his gun was holstered. He was giving Edward a sharp look. "I'd hate to tell Father you had an issue with the merchandise."

Edward met his stare. "Not a problem at all, Giovanni."

"Excellent."

Luca's girl already had her mouth wrapped around his length as the man rolled his eyes back in satisfaction.

Edward fought back the bile in his throat and looked down at the girl who had likely been kidnapped and forced into sex from a young age. It was only the knowledge that if he refused, his position may be compromised and his life in jeopardy that forced him to stay calmly seated. He needed to stay in their good graces until the police had enough evidence to put them away without a doubt.

He could not save her or those like her if he was dead.

With an unnoticeable gulp, Edward nodded down at the girl on her knees.

The young woman looked up at him with wide eyes before her hands darted out to Edward's belt and began to unfasten it with a sort of detachedness flooding over her face. Edward watched impassively as she pulled his largely flaccid cock out of his pants and then didn't waste a minute before taking him into her mouth.

Edward cleared his mind of any thought, willing himself to find a quickly completion. If he didn't finish, Luca and Giovanni would undoubtably take notice, and even in his drunkenness, Luca would question it. If he thought of anything other than his utterly primal sexual desires, he would not be able to finish and that would only make all of them suspicious. It was not a stretch to consider that his state of wellbeing depended on his ability to enjoy her minstrations.

Luca was making pleasured noises, unabashedly. Giovanni's girl had followed suit of the other two and he was gripping her hair roughly and handling her like rag doll. Two other men snorted some of the lines while the other three were getting pleasured.

Edward kept his mind clear, concentrating only on the sensation, and nothing else. He blocked out all images of the woman waiting for him back at Cullen Consulting, but at times he failed.

After some time, with a grunt and some labored breaths, Edward came.

The woman expertly lapped up his seeds, her eyes cast down the entire time. Once she was finished, Edward grabbed his cock and swiftly shoved it back into his pants, pulling up the zipper and fastening the pants while trying to keep the shakiness of his hands hidden.

"On that note," Edward said to the brothers who were both looking disgustedly sated. "I'll take my leave."

* * *

Edward raced back to the office despite the fact that it was nearing midnight. He had to write a hand written report of the call and lock it into the safe before he could get the hell back to his penthouse. His body was surging with the urge to shower for four hours straight, as if that would somehow absolve him of any and all of the sins he had just committed.

There was a giant knot in the thick of his stomach, threatening to make it's way up at any moment. He was absolutely and unequivocally disgusted with himself and furious.

He was disgusted. He was ashamed. He was embarrassed.

And he was so goddamn pissed.

He was pissed at Luca, Giovanni, the entire fucking mafia, Carlisle Cullen, and he was just so furious at himself, at the heart of it all.

She saw him before he saw her.

"Oh thank God you're back!"

Bella appeared before him and threw her arms around his neck, holding him close to her. Even though their clothes, he could feel her racing heart.

She had been worried about him.

Edward stiffened at her contact and held his arms tersely at his side, fighting any urge to take her into his arms and dispel her fears.

He could not do that.

He was not even the slightest bit worthy of doing that.

And he hated that she made him think, even for a second, that he was.

"I was so worried," Bella mumbled into his chest. She gave him another forceful squeeze before loosening her grip and looking up at him.

"Are you hurt?" she asked, moving to touch his cheek.

Edward flinched at the contact.

Bella's hand dropped immediately. She looked at him with her goddamn beautiful wide eyes that hinted of the hurt of rejection upon his movement.

She had been waiting for hours for him in his office, worrying that he'd come back bloodied and bruised as usual. Edward saw the first aid kit open and ready on his desk. She had waited for him in concern for his safety. All the while, Edward had been smoking and drinking and mouth fucking a sex slave and had gotten off from her ministrations.

"I'm fine," he snapped coldly.

"Oh," she muttered, trying and failing to hide her surprise at his harshness. "That's good," she said lamely.

"You can go now," he said in a clipped voice, pushing past her and heading towards his office.

"Oh," she mumbled again. "Are you sure? I can-"

"I'm perfectly fine, Swan," he snapped as he rounded his desk.

"Well…what happened?" she asked softly. "Do you want to tal-"

"No I fucking don't," he said aggressively.

Bella flinched at the explicative directed at her.

Edward sat down in his chair and glared at her. "I don't need you here."

Again, Bella looked startled by his harshness. There was no teasing or amusement in his words. "I don't mind," she tried, wringing her hands together despite herself.

Edward closed his eyes and gritted his teeth before opening them.

"I don't fucking _want_ you here, Swan."

Bella's mouth popped open. "Oh."

"So please, for once, leave me the fuck alone!" he said harshly. "I don't need you to play nurse on me or waste your time worrying about me. You can't do a single thing for me that I can't do myself. I'm sure you think you're charming and that your wit makes you tolerable to me or gives you some preference in my eyes but I can assure you, it does not. What I actually need is for you to just leave me alone. I can't take another goddamn minute of your insufferable meddling."

The room was silent as Edward's chest rose and fell harshly with his heaving breath.

"Okay."

Bella blinked several times, her eyes watering over. Before he could further annihilate her, she turned and scurried out of his office.

Edward numbly considered whether or not he had finally managed to push Bella Swan away before he hunched over and threw up into the nearest garbage can.

* * *

Ooofta.

This one goes out to all of you who reviewed hoping Mr. Masen and Miss Swan wouldn't go two steps back...how does three or four steps back sound instead?

A trip to Poland delayed this update a bit - that and I just kind of wilted reading and editing the end part and figured some of you will be quite upset with me. And on that note, follow me on Twitter at 2carm2carm2 for more updates on the updates.

*EDIT (after several angry Guest reviews) - This is not Cheaterward. Bella and him kissed one time at a wedding, there is something between them, but they were not in a committed relationship. I know this chapter is upsetting, but this the reality Edward finds himself in with these dangerous men. It isn't just shooting nameless faces, it's a lot worse than that. That being said this is a HEA, I promise.


	19. Chapter 18

The next few days seemed to crawl by for Bella.

It was almost habit now for her to run through the events of the last few days, trying to figure out what the hell had happened.

 _Saturday_ : Edward shows up at Alice and Jasper's wedding and they end up on some fairway, dancing slowly and closely to a love song, sharing a fantastic kiss.

 _Sunday_ : Bella excitedly reminisces about the evening, realizing her crush on him. Unimportant, but she couldn't help but remember her excitement.

 _Monday Part 1_ : Edward is dealing with a stressful case but seems pleased, or at least not adverse, to spending time with Bella. He pays for dinner and refuses to let her give him money. He even teases her about something. Then he gets called out by the Brigados.

 _Monday Part 2_ : Edward returns and yells at Bella and tells her to "leave him the fuck alone."

She didn't get it.

There was something she was missing; there had to be.

What could she have possibly done to make him so, _so_ furious? Bella had looked at his eyes carefully when he was yelling at her. She had assumed that he was being his usually grumpy self and that his bark was really just larger than his bite. But in his eyes, she had seen anger. He had been really mad, and she had been on the receiving end and it had been terrible.

Edward said terribly rude and hurtful things to her and she had had no response but to leave the room before he saw the tears slip out of her eyes.

Bella had made it to her brownstone around 1:30 in the morning after Edward seethed at her. Her eyes leaked a little bit on her late drive home but she eventually made it. She curled up in her bed with her cat and felt an overwhelming sense of exhaustion, yet sleep evaded her and she just thought of all that he had said to her.

Underneath the hurt, she felt an undeniable sense of embarrassment. She had been excited, so excited to see him after their kiss. She had felt like a fifteen-year-old girl, trying to catch glimpses of her crush in between classes. She had been eager to spend time with him, and she had been worried about his safety. She always worried about him. And that had gotten her nowhere.

On Tuesday morning, Bella bucked up some nerve and went to Edward's office. It was early enough in the morning that no one was really around on the 33rd floor. Bella convinced herself that Edward had just had an especially bad evening and that it was nothing she had done. She figured she would talk to him and she might get an apology, or they'd just pretend it never happened.

She was wrong.

Bella approached Edward's office and noticed immediately that he was facing away from her direction, his head bent intently over his work, a scowl on his face. She was about to slip in before Edward's secretary caught her and cleared her throat loudly.

"Mr. Masen has explicitly asked not to be disturbed for any reason," Arlene informed her primly.

Bella cast her a pleading look. "This is important. I just need to check on a couple things with him."

"I'm sorry, Miss Swan," she said firmly.

"It'll just take a second," she tried.

"Mr. Masen has also explicitly asked not to be disturbed…by you."

Arlene's tone turned almost apologetic and Bella had to wonder how Edward had delivered such an order to her. Bella ignored the pang in her chest as she realized he really had meant what he said last night.

"Spectacular," Bella muttered in defeat, her shoulders slumping as she turned and walked away.

Bella didn't see Edward at all during that day.

* * *

On Wednesday morning, Rosalie seemed to suspect something was up but didn't say anything. Instead, she settled for worried glances in the direction of Bella's office and nothing else.

Bella had finished up performance reviews for most of the departments and the others weren't scheduled until July. The interns were all settled in for the summers and seemed to be doing well. Most staffing needs had been met and other than some job forecasting and and occasional interviews, Bella's work was largely caught up.

At the moment, she was looking at some of their less successful international offices for Cullen Consulting. She was analyzing whether or not the short comings were due to a human resource problem, and they almost always were, so she was trying to figure out what that might be.

Carlisle had given her the assignment on Monday and she was incredibly pleased that he had. Human resource consulting had been her passion before she moved to an internal role and it was fascinating to delve into the international work the company did. It seemed that some of their offices in Europe and Africa had been struggling recently. The work was keeping her interested and her mind off of the simmering hurt she still felt.

Before lunch, Rose let Seth Clearwater into the office. The young IT guy entered the room with a happy smile, looking like he was pleased to be on field trip on the 33rd floor with the executives.

"Seth," Bella said with a smile, "What can I do for you?"

"It's what I can do for you," Seth said with a grin. "Got some fancy new toys for you."

"Really?" she asked in surprise.

"Well, some fancy new software," he clarified. "I can get you a tablet for it if you want, otherwise I can just install it to your laptop."

Bella raised her eyebrows but handed the light weight computer over to the IT guy. He took it and plopped down onto her couch. Bella watched as he inserted some type of drive to the USB port and began to type.

"What kind of software am I getting?" she asked, hovering near him.

"You'll like it," he said, pushing some more buttons. "I like it 'cause it's a super speedy installation."

"Why will I like it?" she prompted.

"Oh it's cool," he confided. "You can search any name and then anything they've ever posted will appear and it flags certain words or phrases that you can set on your own. It even includes any time their name has been mentioned by one of their friends, even if it's been deleted or made private!"

Ah.

Edward's software.

"Here," Seth said, sliding over on the couch. "I'll show you how to use it."

Bella bit her tongue as she sat down, resisting telling Seth that she already had used the software with Edward. Instead, she watched the screen as he pulled things up and began to point out several features.

"And what does this do?" she asked, pointing to a black circle near the search bar.

Seth squinted, appearing confused. "Hmm…I don't actually know, to be honest. This is a relatively new software so I'm not actually sure…"

Bella watched as he clicked on the button experimentally. "I might have to ask Masen about that one…" he was muttering to himself.

"Masen?" she asked sharply.

Seth shrugged. "Yeah, this is like that dude's baby. He knows it in and out. He should probably be the one teaching you all this not me."

"Well why isn't he?" she asked, trying not to appear anything other than professionally curious.

Seth gave her a sympathetic look. "Don't take it personally, Bella. That guy doesn't like anyone."

"What do you mean?"

"He made it abundantly clear that he was only allowing you the use of the software if he did not have to deal with you in the slightest," Seth said with a bit of a wince.

Bella swallowed back the hurt. "I see."

"The man has been on a rampage all week," Seth gossiped. "He's ripped everyone in IT to shreds when one of his system was down for longer than an hour and he's even been giving hell to everyone in his department as well."

"He's not usually very nice," Bella said lightly.

Seth shook his head. "I don't know, Bella. But one's things for sure, something has Edward Masen more pissed off than usual."

Bella winced.

 _That would be me._

* * *

On Thursday afternoon, Bella anxiously watched the clock.

For the past month, Thursdays had been the day of the week that Edward and Bella would quietly head out of town to a shooting range. They had been working with several different guns for Bella to use in the event she ever needed to defend herself. One of the guns was actually locked in the bottom drawer of her desk, even though she couldn't envision a situation which would warrant her pulling out a weapon at work.

Still, both Carlisle and Edward insisted it was necessary and Edward had been a decent teacher for the past few outings. He explained everything clearly and simply, yet making sure she understood the mechanics and reasoning behind certain things. Last week Edward had arranged to have moving targets for her to shoot at and that had gone actually better than either of them was expecting.

Bella waited during the day to see if Edward would reach out to her about it.

He didn't.

Against her better judgment, she finally decided to write an email to the man since she figured Arlene would not actually let her into his office.

 **From** : Isabella Swan

 **Subject** : This Evening

 **Date** : 22, June 2015, 3:52PM

 **To** : Edward Masen

 _Will our regularly scheduled meeting be taking place this evening?_

Bella pressed send before she could convince herself not to. She wanted him to just let her talk to him. She wanted him to explain why he didn't want to see her and why he had been such an incomprehensible ass to her. She wanted answers.

She did not receive an immediate reply but as the minutes ticked closer to closing time, she heard the familiar ding of an email entering her digital mailbox.

 **From** : Arlene Sherils

 **Subject** : Cancelation

 **Date** : 22, June 2015, 4:32PM

 **To** : Isabella Swan

 _This email is to inform you that Mr. Masen has canceled your scheduled meeting this evening and indefinitely._

Bella stared at the screen in shock. He was so appalled by her that he didn't even have the decency to communicate with her on his own? He had his secretary do it! That man was insufferable and pigheaded. Bella was finally beginning to agree with other members of the firm; Edward Masen was an absolute asshole.

With a scowl, Bella snapped her laptop shut angrily and crossed her arms over his chest. In a numb sort of way, she realized her sadness was slowly giving way to anger as she once again ran through the events of the past week in her mind. Edward was making it abundantly clear that he wanted nothing to do with her, and she didn't deserve it.

Bella's eyes narrowed to nothing in particular as she got madder. She had been there for him when no one else had been. She had tended to him time and time again, and she cared for him. She defended him to her employees at the risk of her own reputation as an approachable professional. Hell, she'd even been distancing herself from her friends because of him and how dangerous it was.

Had he asked her to do any of those things?

Well…no.

But he hadn't really protested. At times, though his words said she shouldn't do it, Bella would detect some other part of him that was saying otherwise. She was sure there was a part of Edward Masen that had appreciated the gestures and felt a need to be cared for; he was a human being, even if he pretended otherwise. All humans had a basic need to feel cared for and Bella had done that for him, even though he hadn't wanted it.

And his response was to reject her and be a bear to her and then treat her like shit.

And Bella was pissed.

"What crawled up your ass and died?"

Bella looked up to Rosalie entering her office and realized she had still been glaring at the clean desk in front of her.

"Oh what?" she asked, blinking and looking at the blonde. "No, everything's fine."

"Bull," Rose challenged. "You've been more pissy than I've ever seen this week. Well except Monday, when you were bouncier than I've ever seen. What the hell is going on with you?"

"I'm not pissy," Bella snapped.

Rosalie raised an eyebrow.

"Look, I'm fine. I've been stressed with this new project of Carlisle's. It's just time consuming," Bella lied.

"Are you sure?" she prompted skeptically. "Something's up with you. You can tell me, you know. You can always tell me anything. Not that I should even have to be saying that after five years…" she trailed off in a bit of annoyance.

 _No I can't tell you everything._

"I know Rose," she said with a forced grin. "And I'm okay. What's up?"

Rosalie grimaced.

"What happened?" Bella groaned.

"One of your HR associates, Justine I think, just spoke with me. I think she's scared of you," Rose commented. Bella rolled her eyes. "One of Alice's interns fucked up."

At least it wasn't an intern in the Investigation and Specialized Crime division.

"Which one?" Bella asked.

"Matthew Romero."

Bella immediately recalled his face and information. He was definitely a trust fund baby from Stanford or somewhere along those lines. It had surprised Bella that he was interested in a position with their marketing department, but Alice had liked him and he had done objectively well with the interview process, so they'd offered it to him.

"What'd he do?" she asked hesitantly.

"Well, since Alice is gone this week, her charges have had less to do so I think he was just familiarizing himself with the company drive on his laptop and just poking around and learning about Cullen Consulting," Rose said, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear as she did so.

"And the problem?"

"He poked around in the ISC files."

"Oh fuck me."

"Masen somehow found out and tracked the guy down," Rose said with a wince but obvious dislike.

"What did he do? Shoot him?" Bella was only half kidding.

"Just roughed him up a little bit as I understand it."

Bella let out a large sigh. Not only was Edward being an ass to her, he beat up an intern who would undoubtedly file a complaint with HR and she would be forced to investigate claim and there would be disciplinary action and Bella was annoyed.

"So he wants to file a complaint?" she asked.

"Well…" Rose trailed off. "They both do."

"Edward wants to file a complaint with me?" Bella asked in unhidden shock.

"Okay no. Justine said Masen refused to speak with you or anyone else in HR." Rose said. "He just wants him fired immediately."

"Of course."

Not even for an employment termination would Edward be willing to speak with her.

So Bella spent that much of the late afternoon with Matthew Romero.

Matthew had sat in front of her desk and listened, keeping his head and his eyes lowered for most of her speech. It was really only the fact that he appeared contrite and the fact that Alice had left nothing for him to that spared him termination.

Bella explained why he was not allowed to access confidential information that was only available on a need to know basis. Matthew had assured her that he hadn't actually found much because much of the information was heavily protected and encrypted. Nevertheless, Bella lectured him for the better part of an hour because she was frankly tired of interns fucking up things regarding confidentiality. They would have to better evaluate which employees had access to what, because even though he didn't find anything, that's not to say others couldn't.

"So would you like to file a complaint about Mr. Masen?" Bella finally asked him. He looked a little ruffled, but there weren't any visible injuries. From what Bella understood, Edward had just pushed him against a wall and verbally eviscerated him, but it was still an unnecessary use of physical force.

"Um…no," Marcus said quietly. Bella raised an eyebrow in surprise. "No, I don't want to file anything. Can I just please keep my job?"  
Bella sighed and thought about it.

"You're on probation for the next two weeks," she said finally. "Turn in your laptop to IT and your access to company information will now be almost completely restricted. If you need to access files, you'll need a supervisor's override each time. Pull something like this again and you'll be terminated immediately, do I make myself clear?"

Matthew swallowed and then gave a frantic nod. The kid didn't have much of a backbone apparently. He looked incredibly scared that he'd be fired and Bella took pity on him.

"Perfect," she said cheerily. "Now off you go."

On Friday morning, Bella had a meeting with Carlisle about her recent assignment.

It was nice to actually be working on something business related with the CEO. Bella was reminded of why their company was so successful when she just listened to him speak. He was probably the smartest man she knew, and as they worked, it didn't even occur to her that she had been mad at him for the past month.

"So of these all, which do you think is in the most danger of struggling?" Carlisle asked, taking off his glasses and leaning back in his chair.

Bella thought about it and looked down at his reports. "I don't know. Lagos is an interesting case but they do have a solid leadership team so they should be alright for the time being. Athens clearly has some problems since the Euro has been so heavily affected. But Barcelona concerns me the most; their numbers just aren't where they should be given how much we've invested there. And Spain isn't itself the problem, since the office in Madrid is actually doing quite well."

Carlisle gave her a slight grin. "Barcelona is my immediate concern as well, though I do agree we need to keep an eye on Athens."

Bella nodded. "Even though I think Barcelona's problems could be attributed to a failing in their division similar to ISC, I do think it's largely a human resource problem."

"I agree."

Bella leaned back in her chair, satisfied with their conversation. There had been several things she had noticed about some of Barcelona's structure that could be easily changed and would make a large impact.

"So, is your passport updated?" Carlisle grinned.

"What?" Bella yelped in surprise.

"They expire every 10 years of so," he explained, laughter in his eyes.

"Well yeah, I think it should be fine for another couple of years," she said, thinking back to the last time she had even needed it. It had been a long weekend in Mexico a few years ago that she and Rose took, probably.

"Perfect, you guys will leave for Spain on Sunday morning."

"What?" she asked again in shock.

"It's kind of an earlier flight from what my assistant told me, but you two should be able to sleep," he continued, ignoring her questions.

"Who two?" she asked.

"You and Edward," he said as if it was obvious. "You'll be doing some consulting in Barcelona for the week."

"Edward Masen?" she yelped.

"Is that a problem?" Carlisle asked.

Bella couldn't even think. She had never been sent abroad for a work assignment. Carlisle was somewhat notorious for sending execs to look over international offices, but the work usually only took a day or two, so Carlisle essentially paid for their vacations. She'd never been asked to go, and much less never asked to go with someone who made it perfectly clear he wants nothing to do with her.

"We're not on great terms at the moment," Bella said lightly, not wanting to get into it with her mentor and boss.

"Ah," Carlisle said knowingly. Bella looked at him suspiciously, figuring that the blonde haired man knew more than he was letting on.

"I'll be honest, I can't imagine Roman Brigado is particularly happy about his spy leaving the country, but I think Edward needs a break, and that's not something he can have while being constantly on call while being in the Chicago area," Carlisle said gently and Bella could see that despite all of her earlier accusations, he did care about the man. "Plus, I really could use his eye for Barcelona's special crimes department."

Bella bit her lip. "I don't think it'll be much of a break if he's suppose to spend any time with me," she admitted with a wince.

Carlisle had that knowing look on his face again. "I don't think you're the problem, Bella," he said softly. "Talk to him."

"That's hard to do when he cannot stand to even see my face," Bella said a bit bitterly.

"Well," Carlisle smirked. "It's a good thing you'll be sitting next to him for a 9-hour flight."

* * *

Sorry for the time between updates. I do so love the next chapter, so I'll try to get that one out later this week before I head over to Greece and Croatia for 10 days! Apparently my characters and I head to the warmth of Europe at the same time - though my significant other and I don't have nearly the conversation in front of us as they do.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed that last chapter and have assured me you're in this story for the long haul. It's a pleasure to have you on board with Mr. Masen and Miss Swan and I love hearing your thoughts. Cheers!


	20. Chapter 19

Bella had come to the conclusion that no human should have to wake up at three in the morning under any circumstances. She had sleepily dragged herself out of bed when her alarm had gone off and she had to gather all of her things and get to O'Hare International Airport. It had been a struggle to get through security to say the least.

Usually when in an airport, Bella felt a certain excitement about departing for somewhere different, even if it was just a work trip. She'd never been to Spain, despite the fact that she had a minor in Spanish from Notre Dame, and she should have been thrilled to be in a foreign country doing human resource consulting, which was something of a passion of hers.

The excitement was diminished by two things: a lack of sleep and trepidation at seeing Edward.

And spending a week with him.

So instead of a bubbly excitement, Bella was left with a tired wariness as she waited in the airport terminal for her flight to be called. She didn't see Edward anywhere, which she thought was strange, but she told herself she was too tired to look for him or even care where he was. He could miss the flight for all she cared…she told herself.

Bella looked enviously at the woman waiting next to her who had somehow found a Dunkin' Donuts and was sipping coffee. She glanced down at the time on her phone and bit her lip, not sure if she had enough time before boarding began. But then she realized there was no way she could go on without coffee and her decision was made. With her suitcase wheeling behind her, Bella set about to find the nearest coffee joint in the airport. It didn't take long before she found a Starbucks and ordered the largest coffee they had available.

While Bella waited for her drink, she rubbed tiredly at her makeup free face. She glanced down at her outfit and hoped it wouldn't be too cold or hot. She was dressed decidedly casual with a pair of black leggings and an ivory tunic type of thing with matching flats. She would have just thrown on sweatshirt from college and tennis shoes but she wouldn't put it past Edward to show up in a suit, so she tried to at least make it a fashionable casual (all the while convincing herself that she didn't give a shit what he thought).

By the time Bella made it back to the terminal a woman was speaking over the intercom. "Once again we'd like to extend a welcome to all of you and thank you again for choosing Delta airlines. We have finished boarding anyone who needs assistance and now would like to extend an invitation for anyone in our First Class Zone A to begin boarding."

Bella fidgeted around, trying not to jostle her coffee and passport to get her boarding pass to see which zone she was in. Since Carlisle was footing the bill, she was apparently going to be flying first class. Usually she just settled into business class, so this would be interesting. She entered the line as well as a dozen other people and Bella was glad that she had dressed up her outfit just a little bit because the people surrounding her all clearly had lots of money.

As Bella got in line and waited for them to scan her pass, she couldn't help but search around, no longer trying to hide the fact that she was curious where Edward was. She scanned the area, trying to find the unmistakable bronze hair and was craning her neck around when she started.

"Oh!" she couldn't help but exclaim.

Edward was standing just a foot or so behind her, stoic as always. He looked down at her after her little noise and it seemed like it was a great effort for him to maintain his expression. He raised an eyebrow.

"You're here," she said lamely.

"Obviously."

Bella gave him a small nod and then turned to face the front as the line shuffled forward. She sipped at her coffee slowly hoping that the blush on her face would quickly fade.

She was going to kill Carlisle.

By the time Bella entered the plane, she was not only not excited, but dreading the week. Edward clearly was not thrilled to be anywhere near her, and Carlisle had just forced them to basically take a fucking vacation together and she was grumpy about it.

The grumpiness faded a little bit as Bella looked at the seat she would be spending her 9 hour flight in. It looked like a Lazy Boy recliner; it was ivory and the leather was plush and inviting looking. She could definitely nap in that.

Fitting Bella's carry on suitcase into the overhead bins proved to be a challenge. She swore they were higher that usual, because she usually could get her lugguage easily stowed. With these bins, she was on her tip toes, trying to hoist the heavy bag into the compartment, huffing in irritation as she felt eyes on her.

Edward appeared in the aisle and let out a small sigh at seeing her. He wordless reached up and pressed the suitcase into the compartment.

"Thanks," Bella muttered, fixing the shoulder strap on her purse.

Edward seemed to ignore her as he gracefully put his own bag up next to hers and then closed the compartment.

"Do you want the aisle seat?" she asked, gesturing to the two seats next to each other. "I think it's technically mine, but you can have it if you want."

Edward looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I'm not trying to weasel the window seat away from you!" she exclaimed. "I get the appeal of looking out, except I don't love looking out at the ocean at night it kind of spooks me."

"Swan," he said finally with an eye roll. "Stop talking."

Bella stopped talking.

Edward slid into the window seat and then Bella followed, sitting to his left near the aisle. As she settled into the comfy seat, she let out a relieved breath. He hadn't said much to her but at least he would not be completely ignoring her for the next eight days.

Bella surveyed the area around her as the other passengers began to board. All of the other passengers were older than her except for the pair across the aisle from her. They looked like a younger couple and Bella was shocked to see three children with them. Each the mother and the father had a baby in their arms, and there was a small toddler resting on her father's lap as well. They looked cozy to say the least.

"Brilliant," Edward muttered acidly next to her. "I'm so looking forward to screaming children for the duration of the flight."

Bella looked over in surprise to see that he was glaring at the family next to her. Bella was so shocked that he had just willingly said something to her that she didn't bother to defend the kiddos.

As everyone finished boarding, Bella sipped her coffee slowly, savoring the taste of the warm liquid. She curled her legs underneath her, cozying up in the comfy chair, momentarily content. Out of the corner of her eye, she felt Edward's gaze on her, but didn't look over in his direction.

Other than that fateful night with the gunshot fiasco, Bella had never seen Edward without a suit on. She tried to observe his appearance without garnering his attention. He was wearing dark, well fitted jeans and a white collared shirt with a gray sweater on top of it. He was also wearing black rimmed glasses that made him look incredibly handsome. Bella had almost groaned at the sight of them; she had a decided weakness for men in glasses.

Which was unfortunate, considering the man who was wearing them wanted nothing to do with her.

The flight attendants began to come around the cabin making sure everything was secure. One of them women stopped near Bella and gave her a big smile which revealed shiny white teeth. Bella was immediately wary of somebody who could be so perky at 5 in the morning.

"Hi there!" she said excitedly. "My name is Stacie and I'll be taking care of you guys this morning. Is there anything I can do that would make your flying experience more enjoyable right off the bat?"

Bella raised an eyebrow at seeing that she was mostly addressing Edward but didn't say anything. She noticed Edward's gaze go over to one of the babies that was starting to stir. "I'll need a gin and tonic. A strong one."

Stacie smiled brightly. "Right away, sir. Do not hesitate to let me know if there is anything else you or your wife need!"

Bella's eyebrows shot up automatically. His _what_?

"Just get the drink before your appallingly presumptuous and completely unprofessional nature forces you to make an even bigger fool of yourself," Edward snapped icily.

Bella sipped her coffee quietly.

The interaction with the flight attendant had apparently ruined whatever decent mood the man had been. His entire body was now tensed and she noticed that he seemed to be tightly clenching his jaw. He ignored Stacie when she returned sheepishly with his drink, taking it wordlessly from her.

Just because she was a sadist, Bella offered him a piece of gum as the plane took off to help with the air pressure.

"Did you want a piece?" she asked, holding up the pack.

Edward raised an eyebrow and his upper lip curled back into a snarl at the proffered gum.

Bella rolled her eyes and took back the offer.

 _Ass_ , she thought to herself unhappily. _Giant ass_.

The airplane settled into a cruising altitude. The captain announced that no turbulent weather was expected for the duration of the flight and Bella breathed a sigh of relief. She was fine with flying but when the flight started to bounce, she got a little less fine.

After a little bit of time, Bella glanced over at Edward. She gives it one last shot for reasons that even she doesn't understand.

"Are those the Barcelona files?" she asked

"Yes," he said in a clipped voice.

"How is it going on your end?" she asked conversationally.

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose. "I do not have time for this."

"Oh right," she then said sarcastically, feeling some anger from earlier in the week swell inside of her. "I forgot you vehemently dislike me. My mistake," she said scathingly.

She was done being polite.

"What is it you want, Swan?" he asked through ground together teeth.

"For you to talk to me," she said sourly, feeling more feisty as her coffee kicked in.

"And what would you like to talk about?" he asked just as scathingly. "Was it your hope that I would spend the duration of the flight entertaining an intellectually stimulating conversation with you?"

Okay, so he hadn't been far off the mark.

"Well for starters you could respond to your own damn emails instead of having your secretary do it," she said with an angry hiss. "Or talk to me about an intern complaint, or your software, or really I'd be fine with you just saying hello to me instead of acting like I'm some leper to be avoided at all costs. With absolutely not explanation, I might add."

Edward's eyes darkened at her accusations and probably her own scathing tone. "How ridiculously hypocritical. For how much you dislike the complaints of others who get their feelings hurt by interacting with me, you're acting a lot like one of them."

Bella felt her ears pop as the plane continued its ascent but she ignored it as she felt herself become embarrassed by his accusations. He had a point.

"You kissed me," she hissed lowly. "You kissed me, and danced with me, and bought me sushi and then you told me you never wanted to see me again. I get to have my feelings hurt and I sure as hell get to be confused!"

Edward looked around angrily to make sure they were not being overhead before turning back to Bella. "I told you, Swan," he said lowly. "I warned you that I am the worst possible person for. I warned you and you ignored me and I hope you realize by now that you shouldn't have. You can hardly blame your alarming lack of self preservation on me."

"I thought you were wrong," she said angrily.

"Of course you did," he said bitterly.

"Apparently," she said, crossing her arms and turning away from him. "I was the one who was wrong."

The pair ignored each other for the next five hours.

Bella shifted in her chair so that her back was angled towards Edward so she wouldn't be tempted to look at him as she read her book, putting on reading glasses of her own. It seemed he was absolutely determined to be nasty to her and keep her at arm's length, and she was just about done with fighting him.

Edward was working on something on his laptop while Bella felt him occasionally glare over in the direction of the complaining babies, but Bella didn't care that they bothered him.

He was bothering her and she had to deal with it; he was fine.

By the time the plane was cruising over the Atlantic Ocean, they had not said one word to each other. However, both of them were getting distracted from their respective works by the baby twins who were finally now issuing their complaints about flying. The toddler who was also seat across the row from Bella was beginning to cry as well.

The young couple were on the receiving end of several unpleasant stares, including the man next to her. A few of the First Class cabin patrons offered sympathetic smiles, but the noise escalated and the two parents were clearly outnumbered by their three crying children and seemed to be getting more frazzled by the minute.

After her ears couldn't take it any longer, Bella decisively got out of her seat and went to crouch by the woman. "May I?" she asked, gesturing to the sad baby in her arms.

The woman looked at her with wide eyes and then glanced over at her husband who gave her an enthusiastic nod. "Um, sure, yes, thank you."

Bella held out her arms for the baby who was wrapped in a little pink blanket. "Her name is Elizabeth and she's about four months old," the mom informed her, transferring the warm weight into Bella's awaiting arms.

With a nod and reassuring smile, Bella took the crying baby back across the aisle to her seat. The baby's face was red from crying and her tiny lips were formed into a little pout.

"Hey there, sweetie, you're alright," Bella cooed, rocking the baby back and forth in assurance. "It's okay, Little Liz, you're alright."

Bella offered the little baby the tip of her recently sanitized finger to suck on, figuring the motion may help relieve pressure on her tiny ears from the altitude. "See there? It's okay, it's not so bad," she continued to coo and rock. "You are such a pretty girl."

Baby Elizabeth eventually began to calm down, her cries turning to whimpers and then nothing as Bella continued to talk softly to her and made big smiling faces at her. The rest of the plane breathed a sigh of relief that the baby would not be crying for the whole flight while the parents got the other children under control. She tickled her chin and traced her fingers against the baby's belly which was clothed with an adorable onesie. The baby with bright blue eyes did not stay awake long and soon her little light purple eyelids fluttered closed and she fell asleep.

The parents across the aisle were still clearly busy with their other two children and Bella was completely content to hold the baby in her arms. Bella stared down at the little human in her arms, a small smile on her face as she enjoyed the warm weight of cuddling a sleeping baby.

As she held the baby and marveled about the fact that little humans fit so well in the arms of their mothers, Bella felt a small pang in her chest. Many of her friends from college had all settled into their marriages and had babies of their own now and seemed to love motherhood. Bella was married to her job and had a cat which needed minimal attention. Bella never actively worried about settling down within the window of her biological clock, but with the baby in her arms now, it was hard not to at least think about it.

Bella ignored Edward for the most part as she assumed he was appalled by her decision to bring one of the babies even closer to him. However, once the child had stopped crying, Bella sensed his continued glances over in her direction. She assumed he was looking at her with disgust and annoyance, so feeling some of the residual anger at him, she didn't even bother.

Perhaps if she would have looked, she would have seen him swallow uncomfortably in something that looked awfully like regret.

Perhaps she would have noticed how he watched as she expertly gave care because it was clear that it was as instinctual to her as breathing.

Perhaps she would have seen something else in his gaze…something similar to the night of Alice and Jasper's wedding when he really saw her for the first time.

* * *

The flight arrived at approximately 11pm Barcelona's time. The passengers on the flight made it through customs relatively painlessly and got their luggage back. Bella was about to ask Edward how they were supposed to get to their hotel, but then she saw a man in a suit holding a sign that had both of their names on it, and she was quiet.

Their hotel was gorgeous. It was on the outskirts of the city on a bit of hill. The architecture was old and classic Spanish but the inside was plush and luxurious. Edward and Bella both got keys to their rooms, neither saying a word to the other as they made it up to the 7th floor and entered their respective rooms which were right next to each other, as it turned out.

Bella figured since it was about one in the morning that she should sleep. She checked out her room a little bit before changing into some sleeping clothes and crawling into bed, trying to feel exhausted since she had been up since three in the morning. She closed her eyes and allowed sleep to overtake her.

It did not.

Bella tossed and turned for about an hour before she realized this was not the time zone she was used to sleeping in. Back in Chicago it was barely past dinner time. With a huff and a realization that she'd be quite tired by the time the Barcelona sun crept up over the city, she got out of bed. She poked at her cell phone briefly before setting that down and padding over to the other set of doors in the room that she assumed led to a balcony.

After pressing open the glass door, Bella was immediately assaulted with the warm Spanish air, that was made pleasant by the fact that it was night time. The city of Barcelona was in front of her, glittering brilliantly. Bella breathed in the warm air with a smile before her eyes snapped open and she realized she was not the only person outside on the apparently shared balcony.

Edward was sitting in an iron chair on the side of the balcony near his room. He had shed a lot of his clothes and was sitting in jeans and a white v-neck, a glass of alcohol in his hand.

"Oh," Bella muttered, "Sorry," she said, turning around to go back inside to the room.

"Stay."

Bella's head turned in surprise. Edward hadn't looked at her when he spoke, but when he was met with silence, he turned his head to look at her.

She saw no malice in his gaze.

"Okay," she murmured, and then tentatively slid down the exterior wall and rested her back against the rough stone. She let her head rest against the wall as she gazed out at the sparkling city, ignoring her confusion at his sudden change in attitude.

Much to her great surprise, Edward rose from his seat and then moved slowly over to his door. Bella almost sighed then as she watched as he went back inside his room. However, he returned seconds later, with a second glass in his hand.

Bella looked up at him as he moved slowly, lowering himself tentatively to the ground next to her. He rested his head against the wall as well, taking a sip of the liquid. Bella did the same, feeling some type of rum in her throat. She vaguely registered her absolute trust in the man as she drank the unknown liquid without hesitation.

The silence stretched on for a few moments, not uncomfortable but somewhat unsettling.

"I'm sorry," she finally said.

Edward's head rolled slowly in her direction. "What could you possibly be apologizing for?"

Bella bit her lip. All of her anger had faded over the previous few days, and once the anger was gone, she was mostly just tired. Tired and still wanting things to be right with them, despite all of the shit.

"For whatever I did to make you hate me."

Edward sighed and took a sip of his rum.

Bella held her breath.

"I don't hate you."

Bella, who was thumbing the rim of the glass tumbler, looked up at him upon hearing those words. She simply raised an eyebrow in response, challenging his assessment.

"Swan, I-"

"Bella."

Edward looked taken aback.

Bella continued.

"You always call me Swan," she murmured. "But you can call me Bella."

At that, Edward took a large swig from his glass, as if he needed it to say whatever was on his lips. "No I can't."

At her confused look, he continued. "Because calling you Bella just reminds me of what a beautiful…wonderful woman you are," he admitted lowly, not looking at her as he raised his glass to his lips once again. "Swan allows me at least a small distance from this reminder."

Feeling a warm flush on her cheeks and not knowing how to respond to his words, Bella took a sip of her drink, mulling over this new information. She tried to maintain nonchalance as if his compliment had not made her blush.

"Why have you been ignoring me?" she wondered softly.

Edward sighed.

For a moment, she didn't think he was going to answer her.

But he did.

"I feel as if I have deceived you. I worry you do not have a realistic idea of what all I do when I am called on by the Brigados," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "And if you did, you would be glad to be spared of my presence."

"But I don't care about that."

Edward turned his gaze over to her, seemingly startled by this quick and sure revelation.

"I don't give a shit about what they force you to do," she continued quietly. "You do it to stay alive, and if you're not alive, we have no chance of bringing that family down."

Edward shook his head, frustrated with her easy acceptance.

"That's far easier to say than to follow through on."

Bella shook her head.

"I don't need easy."

"Sw-Bella…you deserve far better than a man who is involved in an enormous human trafficking ring."

"Oh."

Bella looked over at him in surprise before he looked away, taking another swig of his alcohol and staring determinedly out at the city before them. She considered what he said with a sort of detachedness that she could only attribute to jet lag, a weird week without his presence, and an overwhelming care for him…despite everything.

"I've been forced to reap the _benefits_ of the family's success in training their slaves," Edward spat in disgust, still not looking at her, but his gaze furious. "And I can't ascertain that I won't be forced to it again."

It was Bella's turn to stare out to the city before them, taking a large gulp of her drink as she mulled over his words.

Carlisle had told her that the mafia kidnapped and trained and sold sex slaves, but it hadn't occurred to her that Edward would really be involved in that. That must have been what he had been dealing with on the Monday, she realized, based on the tone of self loathing.

For a man who rarely let any emotions slip, the anger and disgust on his face meant something to Bella. She could see the anger was directed at himself and his situation. She could see that he was purposely not meeting her gaze.

He was ashamed of himself.

The thought of Edward with a woman in that context made her really uncomfortable, there was no point in denying it. She took another large gulp of alcohol, as if that would solve the uneasiness she had at his confession.

Edward would not look at her as she thought about what he said, but she didn't think for very long.

Since the day she had learned about his situation, she had wanted to rage at the injustice of it all. That had not changed. She still wanted to protect him and care for him in any way that she could, because he deserved that and so much more.

She knew her reaction could push him away once and for all.

And that was the last thing she wanted.

"Did you want to?" she finally asked softly.

Edward's head snapped in her direction. "Of course not!" he exclaimed angrily.

She stared at him for a moment, seeing the flush on his cheeks and the anger in his eyes. Beneath the anger, she swore she could see hurt. The ordeal had obviously affected him immensely and her heart felt heavy that he had suffered it all alone. There was no doubt in her mind that if had been anything other than a suffer, knowing what she knew about him.

Bella finally gave him a little nudge with her elbow. "Then how could I hold it against you?"

"S-" he broke off with a sigh. "Bella, you don't understand, not really."

"Understand what?"

"I'm not some crying baby you can calm with some," he hissed in frustration, "I'm not some wounded animal you can adopt, hold to your bosom, and nurse back to health. You've got far too much of a caring heart to realize that I cannot be taken care of."

Bella shook her head stubbornly. "Edward, you're not some pet project of mine."

He remained silent as he glared at the city, clearly not believing her.

"Yes, I'm so upset and frustrated about what you're forced to do and how poorly you are treated because of people's ignorance," she admitted. "But I'm not just interested in you because I happen to care for people. I like spending time with you because you're you."

Edward closed his eyes and rested his head against the brick with a groan. "Bella."

"What?" she asked, wondering if she said something wrong.

Edward kept his eyes closed, his face scrunched into a pained grimace. Bella didn't understand his pain, but true to his observation, she felt an overwhelming urge to alieve him of it. Instead she waited for him to speak, gazing up at him without expectation.

"You haven't let me push you away," he said lowly.

"Everyone else has, but you haven't. I'm a dangerous man to be with, Bella, and I don't know if you understand how much danger you'd be in if the Brigados discovered I was with you. I can't make you understand. And I can't-" he broke off with a frustrated sigh, running his hands angrily through his. "I can't keep pushing you away. God, I can't - not when you look at me like that."

Bella reached out and took his hand.

"Please stop trying to push me away then." She gave his hand a slight squeeze. "Please."

Edward sighed but didn't remove his hand from hers.

She felt a tentative squeeze back as she watched his shoulders begin to relax.

"I shouldn't want this," he said, almost to himself. "And I may never understand why you do."

Bella inhaled slowly. "But you do?"

At that, Edward turned his gaze fully onto her. His green gaze was warmer than she had ever seen as he met her stare and left her breathless.

"I do."

Bella couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face. And upon seeing it, Edward couldn't fight the own small upward turn of his lips.

But then Bella sobered, remembering that she had felt this before. "The pushing stops. Talk to me when something happens. I will not be you punching bag again like I was last week."

Edward lowered his gaze and then gave her a small nod, shame in his eyes. "I am sorry, Bella."

It was the first time she had ever heard him apologize.

"I mean it, Edward. We can work through a lot, but I will not put up with that."

Edward stared at her intently before swearing, "You have my word it won't happen again."

She believed him.

Bella then smiled gently at him. "Then we can do this. Because I want this too."

Edward was silent for a long time before he looked over at her again.

"You have the _absolute_ worst sense of self preservation in anyone I have ever met."

"Are you willing to overlook that and my questionable view on ethics?" she asked teasingly, finally lightening the mood with the reminder of her A- in college.

Edward's lips quirked up and his eyes danced in his amusement. He surprised Bella by leaning down and pressing his lips firmly against hers, with a gentle confidence that made her swoon. It was only for a moment but Bella felt the electric connection between them and smiled once again.

"If you're willing to overlook my own faults, including an absolute dislike for most people, especially your godforsaken interns."

Bella let out a small laugh and his eyes danced at the sound of it. She grinned and then pressed her lips against his.

"Deal."

* * *

Okay it was me who got the A- in Ethics. And I'm still bitter.

Hope you enjoyed this one. From last chapter's reviews, lots of people were concerned about the intern, annoyed at Edward, and wanting her to give him a piece of her mind. After this late night conversation, do we think they're gonna be alright? Did Edward get off easy or does Swan just really get him? Do you think the Brigados are cool with Edward's European trip? Do you have any recommendations for Croatia and Greece for this author?

I have lots of questions.

And an airport campout out in front of me tonight, so don't be surprised if you all get late night responses to your reviews, haha. Cheers!


	21. Chapter 20

The sun rose over the city of Barcelona much sooner than it did the city of Chicago. Bella gave a little groan when Martin Gaye started singing, and quickly turned off the alarm. She then laid down and stared up at hotel ceiling for just a moment. She let herself remember the early morning hours she had spent with Edward just a few hours ago in which he agreed to try. And as she stared at the ceiling, she felt a small smile on her face.

In the room next door, Edward had turned off his alarm and was also staring up at the ceiling, the events of last evening coursing through his jetlagged brain.

He was wary…oh so wary.

She would get hurt.

Edward swallowed grimly.

The situation was so volatile that it was inevitable it would not end well.

He loathed himself for the fact that he couldn't push her away.

Lord knows he had tried.

But he was so tired of trying, trying to push away the beautiful little woman with her wonderful, wide brown eyes. He didn't have the strength, especially when she looked at him like she thought he was a man worthy of her affections.

She would get hurt.

If Edward was going to do this, if he was going to give them a proper chance, he would have to accept that his priorities would shift.

He had to be ready to protect her.

Edward thought of the way she had snuggled up on her absurd pallet of pillows after his gun shot. He thought of the way she had looked at him with such tenderness in her gaze as she nuzzled into a pillow in his t-shirt which she positively swam in. He thought of that and realized with a sudden ache in his heart that he was ready and had been for awhile now.

He was ready to protect her.

* * *

The two young partners had a day scheduled for business. There was a black sedan waiting for them as soon as they were dressed in their business wear. Edward was waiting for Bella down in the lobby with two cardboard cups of coffee. He offered it to her and since she wasn't awake enough to say anything witty, she just breathed a relieved, "Thank you," and followed him out to the parking lot.

Their driver navigated skillfully through the bustling streets of the city. Barcelona actually reminded Bella a lot of Chicago except for the incredibly bright blue sky and shining sun that bathed the area with sparkling light, as well as all of the trees. Bella looked out the window for most of the drive, taking it all in as she drank her coffee, savoring the caffeine.

After about 20 minutes, they arrived at skyscraper and Bella could immediately see the Cullen Consulting logo that Alice worked so fiercely to protect. Bella knew that the firm only rented a few floors out of the building, but it was still an impressive area for an office.

"Muchos gracias," Bella said with a gracious smile.

"Sí claro, seniortia," the driver said with a surprised smile. They slid out of the car and moved toward the entrance.

"You speak Spanish?" Edward inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Obviamente," Bella said with a twinkle in her eye. "You don't?" she teased.

She didn't actually expect him to speak Spanish.

"Un poco," he said smoothly, "Pero es un deficil para mi."

 _A little, but it is a little hard for me._

Bella's jaw almost dropped. He had a beautifully perfected accent that made her knees weaken a little bit. Who knew his silky voice would sound even better in a different dialect?

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard you admit something was difficult for you," Bella commented mildly as they made their way over to the elevator.

"I did no such thing," he said with a sniff. "Perhaps _your_ Spanish is just lacking."

Bella rolled her eyes.

"Perhaps."

They rode in the elevator to one of the top floors, Bella ignoring the slight smirk he was giving her, despite having her lips quirked up a little bit. She was pretty sure she could get along with Playful Edward.

Once they checked in at the reception desk, they were directed to a couch to sit and wait. They were also offered coffee, -which Bella gratefully accepted- chocolate and baked rolls that had some type of sugar on them. Bella happily munched on it while they waited. Edward sat next to her, scanning the room and observing his surroundings, having declined the food.

Soon they were joined by two incredibly beautiful people.

"Ms. Swan," the woman greeted warmly and then just as warmly, "Mr. Masen. It's a great pleasure to welcome you here."

As soon as Bella hastily stood up, she was pulled into a hug by the woman she assumed was named Carmen, the HR Director she would be speaking with today. The hug surprised her and before she could react, it was over. Carmen looked like she wanted to hug Edward, but Bella shifted in front of him to protect the man from her embrace.

Edward shook both of their hands, his face offering little emotion. "Hector," he greeted the man.

"This is my wife, Carmen," the Spanish man introduced with a grin. Bella smiled as Carmen shot him a smile in return. "It's our pleasure to have you here."

"Thank you," Bella said with a grin. She looked over at Edward who gave her a nod. "Shall we?"

The four of them broke apart, Edward going with Hector who was the managing partner of the firm and Bella going with Carmen who was the executive of human resources for the Barcelona office. Bella was given a tour of the place and then the two women got to work, Bella busting out all of her notes and everything she had observed from the information she had been given at headquarters.

Carmen graciously accepted many of her suggestions and provided any information where Bella was lacking. After awhile, it became clear that Carmen was competent at her job and was just being faced with particular challenges between a mixed workforce of Spanish natives and employees who had been assigned from the Chicago office. The two worked through much of the day and by the end of it, they were laughing together like old friends.

"How long have you and Masen been together?" she asked with a conspiring grin after Bella had closed her laptop.

The question took Bella by surprise. "What?"

"Oh lo siento," she apologized profusely in Spanish. "I just assumed after I saw the way you two were together."

Bella raised her eyebrows. Carmen continued. "You seem very in, how do you say…in sync, yes, in sync with each other."

"Oh!" she said with some surprise. "Well, it's very new," she said hesitantly, but with a small smile on her face.

Carmen gave her a large smile. "Do you two have plans for the evening?"

* * *

"I do not dance, Swan."

"Everyone dances."

"Not me."

"You have danced before."

"Minor lapse in judgment."

Bella rolled her eyes and ignored the sour puss sitting next to her. Carmen and Hector had invited them out to what they promised was one of Barcelona's hottest clubs. Bella had graciously accepted before checking with Edward because she had anticipated this exact conversation.

The man put up a fit just on principle, but he would concede.

"You said you would try," Bella reminded, trying not to laugh at his scowl.

Edward sniffed. "I had assumed you meant dinner."

"Is it that you just don't know how to dance?" she teased.

Now it was Edward who rolled his eyes. "Of course I do," he said haughtily.

Bella looked over at the man walking next to her and smiled to herself slightly. He was dressed in an immaculate looking black suit that had survived the flight without any sight of wrinkles. The only way one could tell he was dressed leisurely was the fact that he was missing a tie, had one button undone, and had a pair of Ray Bans on to block the setting sun from his eyes. Bella had seen him and let out a laugh upon realizing how fucked she was with how handsome of a man he was. They had just been dropped off by their car and were walking down the street.

"On the bright side, Carlisle would insist we put this on the expense report since we're out with coworkers," Bella said as they walked. Bella was usually a confident walker in heels but found herself walking with caution on some of the cobble stoned paths.

Edward gently placed his hand on the small of her back as he slowed his stride.

"We don't need an expense report," he dismissed.

Bella was trying not to appear affected by the presence of his warm hand. However, at his words, she looked at him in surprise. "What?"

"I'll take care of it," he said as they navigated through people.

"For the whole trip?" she exclaimed incredulously. "That's ridiculous. Some of our expenses are legiti-"

"Don't worry about it," he muttered.

Bella opened her mouth to argue but was interrupted by the sight of Carmen and Hector. They were dressed similarly to Bella and Edward in that Hector was wearing a well pressed suit and Carmen was wearing a tight red dress that flattered her Spanish curves. Bella's own dress clung to her body, the light peach color making her skin look even tanner than it was. When Edward had seen her emerge from her hotel room, he had done a double take which she was fairly sure he thought was inconspicuous. It was not.

"You are so beautiful!" Carmen crooned in her thick Spanish accent, rushing up and giving Bella two kisses on the cheeks in greeting. She didn't try to do the same with Edward and instead settled for a bright smile in his direction.

"Glad you could make it," Hector said genially, shaking Edward's hand and greeting Bella with two kisses as well. Bella felt Edward's hand on her back tighten just slightly at Hector's actions.

"Shall we?" Carmen asked, taking her husband's hand.

At Edward and Bella's nod, the Spanish couple led the way around the line of people that was forming and made their way to the front. Bella and Edward followed, Edward eying the bouncer suspiciously as he allowed the four of them entrance into the club. It seemed money talked everywhere in the world.

The club seemed cool, if not slightly standard to Bella. It was dark and had loud music, lots of people, a dance floor, and a bar. Carmen and Hector seemed to know where they were going, so Edward and Bella trailed behind them, Edward inspecting the area with no small amount of dislike.

They ended up in a booth in a corner and after giving his wife a searing kiss, Hector was making his way over to the bar. Bella was just getting settled down in the leather seat when Edward leaned down close to her. She felt his warm breath on her ear as he asked, "What would you like?"

Bella shivered.

"Surprise me."

Edward pulled back and gave her a small smirk, so very small, yet so charged with sensual confidence. Everything about him radiated power and she wasn't even sure he was aware of it. She, on the other hand, was very aware of it.

"Very new, huh?" Carmen teased, having watched the interaction from the other side of booth. Bella rolled her eyes and didn't say anything to goad her further.

"Sounds like Hector and Edward had a productive day," Bella commented conversationally.

Carmen sobered.

"I'm sure," she said in a strained voice.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked after noticing the change in the woman.

"I don't like this crime business," Carmen said lowly, so low Bella could barely hear. "I do not want to get involved in such dangerous things. There are people in this city that do not like it that Cullen Consulting is getting involved…or so I've heard."

Bella's stomach tightened. "I know what you mean," she said quietly. "I don't like it either. But Carlisle-"

"Mr. Cullen?" Carmen interrupted. "Have you met him?"

Bella was momentarily taken aback by remembering the sheer size and scope of the company her mentor had built. "Yes…we're close."

Carmen's eyes widened. "The CEO, Mr. Cullen?"

"Yeah, that one."

"You're close with him? And you're involved with Mr. Masen, who leads your crime division?" Carmen clarified.

Bella was momentarily uncomfortable under her gaze. "Yes, and…?"

"You, Seniorita Swan, are an interesting woman."

Bella wasn't quite sure what to say to that, but luckily did not have to come up with a response. Edward and Hector appeared, both with two drinks in their hands. Edward was eyeing the people around them with a scowl on his face but upon meeting Bella's gaze, his face softened ever so slightly.

"Thank you," Bella said as she accepted the drink from his hands and slid into the booth to make room for him. She took a sip of the light pink drink and smiled at the taste. Edward watched her before seeing her pleased reaction and then taking a sip of his own drink.

"Now, where were we?" he asked.

Bella thought as she took another sip. "Oh yeah! Why you think you should pay for this trip."

Edward rolled his eyes and took another swig of his drink. "How could I have forgotten?"

"I get that we're well paid but-"

"Well paid?" Edward asked with a raised eyebrow. "I'm fairly certain you do not receive the same bonuses I do."

That stopped Bella for a moment. "Okay, fine, bit-"

"Swan, besides Carlisle, I'm the highest paid employee in the firm. International offices included."

Bella's jaw dropped open.

Edward allowed himself a smirk and then reached over and tapped Bella's jaw, causing her to close her suddenly dry mouth and swallow.

Bella knew how well their executives were compensated.

And Edward was paid more than them.

"I don't feel bad about the sushi anymore," she finally said.

Edward's lip quirked up.

"Good."

"Want to dance?" she asked, pushing all thoughts about the ridiculous amount of money Edward apparently made out of her mind.

Edward eyed her warily. "You weren't even going to let me finish my drink before inflicting me to such cruelties?"

Bella was already standing up.

"Correct."

"You're merciless, Swan," he commented as he was standing up, taking her offered hand.

As soon as the two of them made it to the dance floor, the music started to change from an upbeat and familiar American song to strands of distinctly Spanish music. Bella looked over at Edward with wide eyes.

"Oh shit," she muttered.

"What now?" he drawled.

"I don't flamenco," she said in a panic, even though he was already gathering her in his arms and she could do little to protest.

"You have danced before," he intoned, using her earlier words against him.

"Not this one," Bella said with a grimace.

"Just relax, Swan."

Bella inhaled deeply and before she could exhale Edward had started to move. Bella was in more awe than she cared to admit as he led them through the dance. Confidence continued to radiate off of him as he expertly moved, guiding her with such gentleness that was a stark contrast to his usual words and actions.

And for the second time, Bella realized she loved dancing with Edward.

"Did you finish up with Carmen today?" Edward asked after the song switched back to a slower song and Bella took more of a lead in the dancing.

"All done," Bella confirmed. "I did tell her I'd check back in on Friday and see how things were going, but I'm finished. What about you?"

"He should have adequate information to right things for the time being," Edward replied, a bit of a glint appearing in his eyes.

"And the Brigados have less use for you across the ocean," Bella said slowly with a smile spreading onto her face.

"So that means we have the rest of the week to simply…"

"Date?"

Bella looked up with a full grin now on her face. While Edward didn't have the same expression, she could see a twinkle in his eyes, one which most people would not expect from Mr. Masen.

"We have the rest of the week to simply date."

* * *

They spent the next five days in Spain exploring the vibrant country and enjoying each other's presence in a way that had never been possible while they were in the United States. Edward had a lighter air about him than he ever did when in Chicago. Bella noticed he was still a bit of a grump and did seem to have a general wariness of people that wasn't completely related to being a spy, but he tried his best not to be crotchety with her.

Bella also learned that the man was usually stubborn just because he could be.

He protested for the fun of it. It was like he enjoyed riling her.

And Bella let him, because she adored Playful Edward.

They went to Sagrada Familia and while Edward glared at the hoards of tourists around them, he seemed genuinely impressed by Gaudi's architecture. At one point, when they slipped away into the quieter Chapel of the Eucharist, Bella felt herself become overwhelmed with the beauty of the dancing lights that illuminated the grand basilica, and was surprised when she was blinking back tears. She didn't notice that Edward was not observing the stained glass windows as she was, but was rather eyeing her and upon seeing her awe, watching her as if she was just as marvelous as the architecture around them.

Bella decided to space out the tourist attractions because Edward spend most of his time glaring and snarling at the tourists with their front backpacks and aimless wandering. So they did Park Guell a day later. Bella was charmed by the monuments that seemed straight out of a wonderland, and even got Edward to pose for a picture with her by the mosaics when a couple from Canada asked if they would like a photo. Bella had looked at the picture on her phone seemingly every free moment they had.

They walked along winding roads of Las Ramblas, stopping briefly at La Bouqeria. That tested the limits of Edward's patience with all of the people jammed between the market stalls, constantly bumping into him. After getting some coconut fruit juice for Bella, they continued on their way. Whenever the whim struck them, they stopped in Spanish cafes and shops, popping in at their leisure where Bella did most of the shopping and Edward stayed nearby. They ate at fantastic paella, drank sweet sangria, tried hot chocolate and churros, and stuffed themselves with tapas.

They walked a lot and talked even more.

And at nights, they spent time together in their hotel. They played chess and cribbage and Edward beat her in both. They drank sweet red wine wine and mojitos together and watched the sun set over the sparkling city. They ignored their phones and emails, letting their automated out of office message and secretaries handle any matter that needed their attention.

They simply enjoyed being together.

Bella was smitten. She was absolutely smitten and at the end of every day, she was sad that it had passed. Edward was a different person with her and she adored him. He was thoughtful and gentle and smart and inquisitive and he pushed back when she pushed and God was he funny in such an unexpected way.

And what's more, she loved the way she felt around him. She loved the smile she felt herself wearing because of him and she loved the way in which she felt so completely energized by being in his presence.

On their last night in Spain, Edward informed her that he had made reservations at one of the finest restaurants in Barcelona, having had Hector pull some strings to get them a table.

Bella was getting ready in her bathroom, having slipped into a long red dress she had just purchased at a boutique that day. She had finished curling her hair and was working to put the curls in the right place with the help of some bobby pins. As she worked, she heard a quiet sliding noise and recognized that Edward was entering her room from his next door through their connected balcony.

She could sense his presence immediately as she focused on her hair in the mirror. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him lean against the door frame of the open bathroom. He was dressed in his usual suit and tie, something that she hadn't actually seen him in all week and she internally smiled at seeing him return to his usual attire.

After he didn't say or do anything except stare intensely at her through the mirror, she gave him a saucy grin. "Didn't your mother ever tell you that it was rude to stare?"

"Must have escaped my upbringing," he muttered, not taking his eyes off of her.

"Shame," she grinned, continuing her ministrations. "Are you ready to return to the states?"

Edward pushed off of the doorframe. "Don't talk about such morbid things."

Bella kept eye contact with him in the mirror as he moved behind her. Her entire body was alert by the time he was near her, not quite touching but leaving her wanting him to take her in his arms.

Edward reached into his pocket and Bella watched in the mirror wordlessly as he pulled something out of the suit and then raised both of his hands to her neck. Bella saw a flash of gold as he lifted his arms carefully around her and draped a beautiful gold necklace around her neck.

Bella gasped as she recognized it as the one she had been eying the day before in a jewelry store.

Edward skillfully clasped it around her neck and then leaned down and placed a kiss where the clasp fell against her skin.

Bella shivered.

"Edward, you didn't hav-"

"Hush," he breathed, sensually trailing his nose along her jawline, his warm breath tickling her neck deliciously. Bella shivered as he rested his hands on each of her hips, his hands warm and promising through her dress. "Que exquisito…" he murmured seductively into her skin.

Bella finally tore her gaze away from the mirror and turned into his arms, giving into her desire to put her arms around his neck. She was met with the warm stare of green irises, eyeing her with a sort of curiosity behind the sensuous stare.

"Thank you," she whispered with a smile she couldn't help.

"Es un placer, you insufferable woman."

Bella smiled even brighter at his tenderly said words and leaned up to place a kiss on his lips. Edward returned the kiss with as much vigor as she had. Bella felt a warm tingling spread through her body as she considered that tonight might be the night that she was completely with Edward. They had retreated to their own bedrooms thus far in the trip but the way he was making her feel had her thinking that that may end tonight.

As she wrapped her arms around his neck, she heard a low growl in his throat as he attacked her lips fiercely.

Bella gasped as he broke away from her lips and moved his kisses back down to her neck.

"Yet you suffer so admirably," she whispered, teasing.

She felt him smirk against her neck.

"Apparently, I do a lot for your admiration, Miss Swan." He punctuated his words by dragging his nose lightly across the particularly sensitive spot under her ear.

"And your effort is appreciated," she gasped with a smirk.

Edward lifted his face from her neck and met her gazing with dancing eyes of his own. He leaned back down to press his lips against hers and Bella couldn't help the moan that escaped her at the sensation.

A knocking at the door pulled apart the two.

Edward's body instantly shifted. His entire form tensed up and any warmth he had in his face disappeared with the noise. He unconsciously tightened his grip on Bella before letting go and moving towards the door with both confidence and caution. "Stay here," he whispered forcefully.

Bella held her breath.

Edward looked through the peep hole as he placed his hand at the small of his back where his automatic gun was nestled in his belt. With utmost caution, he opened the door with his hand still gripping his gun.

A hotel staff member was on the other side and had a panicked expression on his face and a phone on a silver platter.

"What do you want?" Edward snapped irritably.

Bella winced.

"The Ms. Swan has a phone call from a Mr. Wheetlock," he said with a bit of a stutter, mispronouncing the name.

"Jasper?" she asked questioningly, a feeling of dread in her chest. She rushed to the phone, ignoring Edward's warning glances.

"Hello?" she answered as her heart started to pound in surprise.

"Oh Bella, thank God," Jasper breathed. "Why the hell haven't you answered your phone?"

"I don't have international coverage," she snapped. "What's wrong?"

"It's Carlisle," he breathed. "He's been poisoned."

* * *

Booked a spontaneous weekend trip to Barcelona with my own boyfriend, so wanted to wait to make edits to this chapter until I got back, sorry about the delay and thank you all for your patience.

The bubble for these two got popped after 5 days, naturally. Just their luck. What do we think of them together? Next chapter we have Edward and the rest of Bella's family - any guesses on how that's going to go?

As always, thanks for all of the reviews and the Twitter convos :)


	22. Chapter 21

In the brief period of time where Fanfic was not sending out update alerts, I posted Chapter 20. If you haven't read that one, be sure to do that and then come back for this one.

* * *

After Bella's phone call with Jasper, everything seemed to move in a twisting whirlwind of speed. Once Edward had heard Jasper say, "Carlisle's been poisoned," he became a different person. His entire demeanor shifted, any sign of fondness or relaxation being slammed away as he hissed, "Tell him you'll be there as soon as possible."

Bella did as he said and then quickly hung up afterward and looked at Edward with both fear and confusion.

"The phone connection may be compromised," Edward explained as he stalked across the room, only to stalk back in her direction in an aggressive form of pacing.

Bella took a deep breath as she processed the information. "You think it was the Brigados?" she asked, attempting to keep the fear from her voice.

Edward looked at her sharply. "It'd be foolish to think they would not have a hand in this."

Bella felt her heart pounding.

"Okay, so with our flight being in the morn-"

Edward had already pulled out his phone. "We're leaving tonight. I'm getting us on the next plane to Chicago."

Bella must not have done a very good job at hiding her shock at his abrupt words, because Edward noticed some type of reaction from her. "Take off your dress and pack your things."

At this demand, Bella opened her mouth, about to inform him that she was perfectly capable of doing it without being ordered to, but then shut it. Edward was an interesting man and dealt with stress in a much different way than a lot of people. He was an ass, that Bella could not argue. But something in the way he had his shoulders set and his jaw clenched stopped Bella from arguing with him at the moment.

Not when they had other things to worry about.

And somehow, Edward got them on the next flight out of Barcelona which took off three hours after they received Jasper's call. They both packed up all of their stuff and were ready to leave the hotel fifteen minutes after Edward was finished on the phone. Bella had no idea what he had done to make it happen, but she didn't ask. Edward drove them to the airport in their rental sports car and they hurried through security and boarded the plane just minutes after arriving in the terminal.

Words were few and far between Edward and Bella, much like the flight to Spain, somewhat ironically. Except this time, Edward was not deliberately ignoring her. Bella just resisted the urge to talk to him as he typed away furiously at his laptop after the plane was in the air. He was stressed and mad and -Bella was sure- scared. None of those things brought out the best out of people, so she was silent in her seat.

Bella was scared herself.

Jasper hadn't told her much over the phone, and she understood Edward's concern that their phone lines may be tapped, but the lack of information only allowed her mind to draw the worse conclusions. All Bella knew was that Carlisle had been poisoned and that he wasn't dead at the time Jasper called her…she thought.

He didn't actually say.

The hours dragged on as they flew over the Atlantic Ocean. There was nothing to look out at as it was the early hours of the morning and the sky was dark. With the time change, they would land in Chicago at 3:00am and Bella winced at the thought. She attempted to get some sleep as the other passengers in the cabin were, but she was unsuccessful for the most part. She managed about an hour at best.

Edward didn't sleep.

He didn't ever allow himself to doze off, but Bella did feel an incredible sense of protection that accompanied the knowledge that Edward was right next to her as she slept.

Eventually they landed and by the time they were on American soil, both Edward and Bella were on high alert. Bella couldn't even comprehend what all had been going through Edward's brilliant mind in the span of the flight, but she was frightened and she needed to know that Carlisle was going to be alright.

During the flight she had thought of all of the rude things she had said to him over the past few months and the way she treated him regarding his handling of Edward, and she needed him to be alright in such a selfish way.

They made it through customs and security before both of them were striding towards where Edward parked his Aston Martin in one of the garages, paying a ridiculous amount for parking. They moved with much more force than anyone around them considering the ungodly time of morning they found themselves awake at.

When Bella was back on land she had received a text from Jasper that read: "He's at U of Chicago Hospital."

Bella passed the information along to Edward as they got into the car and when he saw her distressed sigh, he let out a sigh of his own. He then reached over the console and touched her hand so very softly in comfort before removing it and driving.

When they arrived at the hospital, Bella was basically running. She would have run to his room if she would have known where it was. But instead, she had to check in with the information desk, which sounded as appealing as pulling all of her finger nails off.

"Hi," she said to the receptionist, doing her best to sound friendly. "I need to know Carlisle Cullen's room number."

"Visiting hours are over," she informed Bella with a heavy sigh, clearly used to this routine.

"I'm sure you get this all of the time, but it's really very important that I get to his room," Bella said with less friendliness.

"Which you can do tomorrow…during visiting hours," she said a bit snidely in reply.

Bella saw Edward take a step towards them, but she ignored him.

"I'm family," she blurted.

"The only family member on record is Esme Cullen and you really do not look like her."

Bella let out a frustrated huff and was about to argue further when she felt Edward's hand on the small of her back. "Give us a second," he murmured near her ear.

She did as he asked and then moved back a few steps and watched as Edward leaned over the secretary's desk and spoke lowly to her. By the time they were finished speaking, Edward straightened up and gave her a nod in the direction of an opposite hallway.

"What did you say to her?" Bella asked in a whisper as she hurried down the hall with him.

"You want to know?" Edward asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Never mind."

Edward navigated through the halls of the hospital, seeming to know where he was going. Bella trailed a half of a stride behind him, struggling to keep up with his long legs. She was about to ask if he was sure he knew where he was going but then she saw the beautiful caramel coloring of Esme's hair near pop machine.

"Esme!" she cried.

The matriarch turned at the sound of her voice, appearing absolutely exhausted. When she saw it was Bella who called her name, her face brightened and she opened her arms just as Bella crushed into her.

"Bella!" she replied, giving her the warmest of hugs.

When they finally pulled apart, Esme looked over at Edward who was now standing next to Bella. Then with an equal amount of delight, she said, "Edward!" and then pulled him into a hug.

Had it been a different situation, Bella would have laughed at the look of shock on Edward's face at the unexpected contact. His whole frame stiffened and he wasn't able to stop the look of surprise and confusion from spreading across his face. When she held on for more than a second, he brought his arms up and patted her awkwardly on the back.

That seemed to satisfy Esme, as she released him from her grip.

"I'm glad you're both here," she said as she stepped back, giving Bella a tired smile.

"Is he alright?" she asked.

Esme sighed. "He's okay. It was touch and go for a little while yesterday…they had to intubate him because he was having so much trouble breathing by the time the ambulance came. But he's alright now, they should have just taken the tube out."

Bella let out a shaky breath slowly.

Edward did not seem to share in her relief. "But no cardiac arrest? Convulsions? Seizures? Esophageal stricture?" he asked sharply.

Esme shook her head, unbothered by his tone. "It's been mostly respiratory problems. He has had a very high fever but that has begun to go down with treatment. And his heart rate was way too high when they brought him in but that's also normalized."

While Edward processed this information with a slight nod, Bella looked over at Esme. "Can I see him? I know visitation hours are o-"

"Nonsense," Esme said waving it off. "Cullen Consulting is a large donor of this hospital. I hate to take advantage of such a thing, but I have insisted that we be given some leeway-provided we stay out of the doctor's way of course."

Bella gave her a small smile while she continued. "The others just went in there a little bit ago for the first time since the tube's out. I'll show you two where the room is."

Neither Edward or Bella missed the pointed way in which she said "you two" informing the former that it was not an option. Despite the fact that Edward was processing all of the information she had just given him and was sharply scanning all visible areas of the hospital, Bella guessed that he didn't want to mess with Esme, lest she hug him again.

Bella followed Esme the short distance into the room, Edward trailing reluctantly and stiffly next to her.

Esme pushed past the shut door where Bella could hear a flurry of voices which she recognized as all of her friends'. They went into the room which was just blindingly bright and then all of the voices stopped abruptly.

All five faces were looking at Bella in shock.

And then she realized they weren't looking at her.

Edward cleared his throat at the pointed silence and then raised a cold eyebrow in response to the rude show.

"Bells," Jasper greeted in a strained type of way, breaking the silence.

The greeting was returned from Bella with a weak smile as she looked at Carlisle, propped up on a hospital bed in a horrid pastel hospital gown. He looked as pale as Bella had ever seen a person and had an IV hooked up to him and several other wires attached to him, monitoring his stats with every beat of his heart. He looked exhausted and weak, but still had a twinkle in his eyes which Bella recognized so well.

"Carlisle," Bella said, hurrying over to his bed. "How are you?"

The blonde offered her a small smile as she grabbed gently at his hand. "I don't think I'm looking nearly as tan as you."

Bella rolled her eyes in relief. "No, maybe not at the moment," she agreed.

"How was Barcelona?" he wondered conversationally.

"Stunning. But back to your poisoning."

Carlisle gave her a laugh, coughing only a little bit at the end from the effort it took. Bella smiled a little bit, pleased he was well enough. She then realized she was ignoring the rest of the room when she heard Alice's low whisper.

"Why is he here?" she asked Jasper in an angry mutter.

By deductive reasoning, she figured they were talking about Edward.

Bella looked over and with some vague horror registered Emmett standing up from the chair on the other side of the bed and then stalking over to Edward. Rosalie also was watching him. Bella briefly noted that it was interesting that Rosalie was now close enough with them all to be in such an intimate gathering but didn't say anything as she saw some wariness on Rose's face as her boyfriend moved towards Edward.

"Masen, I appreciate you dropping Bella off. I hope you understand that this is a family matter," Emmett said with a fake smile. "So, you know, don't let the door hit you on the way out."

It was said jokingly enough, but to anyone in the room they recognized the hostility in Emmett's voice.

"Emmett," Esme chided in a hiss, smacking one of his arms in horror.

Edward opened his mouth but was unable to speak.

"He's right, Esme," Alice chimed in over Edward. "This is a family matter and I'm sure Carlisle would appreciate the privacy." The words were followed with a harsh glare in Edward's direction.

Jasper looked uncomfortable.

"You two are out of line," Esme said lowly, completely embarrassed.

"He doesn't have a right to be here, Mae."

"My apologies," Edward said with a sneer in Emmett's direction. "I didn't realize any of you had even the remotest of backgrounds in criminal investigation."

That earned him four hard stares.

 _Here we go_ , Bella thought.

"It is either you have these previously unknown about backgrounds or you are foolish enough to prioritize your self described 'Family time' over the protection and prevention of further poisonings happening again. Either one is possible but from this particular gathering of dazzlingly intelligent individuals I'm assuming it's the latter."

Emmett's jaw tightened and he crossed his arms menacingly over his chest while Alice gave an indignant gasp.

"And if it's not that, then what is it? Is it Mrs. Whitlock, that you are jealous of the sudden spotlight and wish to find a similar fate as the indubitably lucky Mr. Cullen has?" Edward continued, raising an eyebrow at Alice.

Edward's words were met with silence.

Bella was speechless as well, torn between anger at her friends for be so rude or anger at Edward for calling her friends on it. From the looks on their faces, Bella was leaning towards the former.

"Edward," Carlisle said, his tone ignoring all of the previous words. "I was actually hoping to speak to you before my sedatives kick in."

The man of the hour nodded stiffly.

No one moved.

"And perhaps this conversation is best had in private," Carlisle continued pointedly.

Still no one moved.

"Oh come on," Rosalie finally snapped, standing out of her chair and heading towards the door after the silence lasted too long. She grabbed one of Emmett's biceps and dragged him out of the room, giving Edward a small untrusting stare just for good measure.

Jasper gave a sigh and pushed himself out of the chair he had found, holding his hand out for Alice to help her up from her seat as well. Alice looked like she was going to put up a huge fight and even opened her mouth, but closed it when she heard Esme clear her throat. The two left the room with Esme following behind.

Bella got up to move but Carlisle squeezed her hand. "You can stay for a second, Bella. Just so you get some of the information too."

She nodded.

"Carlisle," Edward said, leaning gracefully against a wall near the closed door, comfortable in the shadows. "What happened?"

The blonde man sighed and lifted his IV-attached hand to rub his throat. "A little before lunch yesterday, we got a tray of coffees sent up to the 33rd floor. They had all of the names of people with offices near me written on the cups, secretaries too," he added.

Bella internally swallowed back the fright she had at his words.

"The card said they were from a new coffee shop that had just opened up nearby and that they were looking forward to serving our caffeinated needs in the future, we just had to give them a try, or something along those marketing lines," he explained.

"So you drank it."

Carlisle looked at Edward and nodded. "It smelled good enough. My secretary had already sipped at hers and praised it."

"How instantaneous was your reaction?" Edward asked.

"It was immediate."

The two men shared a stare as Bella processed the information.

"And hers was fine? Did anyone else have a reaction?" she asked.

Carlisle shook his head.

"So someone poisoned that coffee, knowing you would be the one to drink it?"

Carlisle nodded.

"It appears I have a target on my back."

* * *

After the brief explanation of the story to Bella, Carlisle politely asked her to give him and Edward a minute and Bella left the room with as much reluctance as Edward had going into the room.

As soon as she left the room with more questions than she had beforehand, she was swarmed.

"Bella!"

"Bells, what the fuck is he doing here?!"

"Why did you bring him?"

"How are you doing?"

"Are you crazy? Have you lost your damn mind?!"

Bella winced at all of the questions coming at her from all directions and then squared her shoulders.

"I'm doing alright, thanks Jasper," she said, ignoring all of the other ones.

"Bella!" Alice exclaimed again, getting her immediate attention. "Why is he here?"

"We just got back from Spain, Alice," Bella said dryly. "Like 25 minutes ago."

Alice huffed. "And I hope your trip was enjoyable as possible given the fact you were saddled with a douche bag for the week, but why is said douche bag here?!"

Bella opened her mouth but then closed it when she watched Jasper step over to his new wife and murmur, "Alice, just take a second, please," to her gently.

"I will not take a fucking second!" Emmett exclaimed indignantly instead. "I would also like to know why the fuck he is here!"

"Emmett, I-"

"Excuse me," a nurse said, appearing next to them in ridiculously floral scrubs. "I know we've made an exception for your family regarding visiting hours, but if you continue your hollering and cussing, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to take it somewhere else."

"Me too," Esme added in a mutter under her breath.

The nurse gave her a pleased nod and then turned and left them alone again in the hospital hallway. Esme moved a few steps over into a little alcove for seating, even though it only had to two benches. They followed her hesitantly, Jasper still trying to calm Alice down and Emmett looking mad as hell.

"I'm waiting, Bells," he hissed. "Did jetlag make you lose all fucking judgment?"

"You are so completely out of line, Emmett," Bella hissed back at him in anger. "I do not answer to you or anyone else so stop acting like I do."

Emmett's glare sharpened. "You will answer to us when you bring that fuckface around us."

"Please, keep talking," Bella seethed, "This is fascinating to see how much our friendship means to you and how high in regard you hold me. Truly fascinating."

"You even fucking sound like him!" he exclaimed, his voice going over a whisper.

"Emmett…" Rosalie said softly, speaking for the first time. She had mostly been watching everyone in the room, observing every detail in a similar fashion to Edward.

"What?" he snapped, looking over at her and then softening slightly.

"I think you might want to lay off…" she said quietly, turning her gaze then to Bella. "Because I'm pretty sure Bella might have just brought the boyfriend home to meet the family."

"What?!"

It was said in beautiful synchronization from Emmett, Alice, and Esme.

Bella raised an eyebrow at Rose, impressed with her deduction and conclusion. It hadn't been the intent, but she supposed that's what had happened.

"Oh you've gotta be fucking kidding me," Alice said with a groan.

"He sure as hell better not be," Emmett snapped.

"That's fantastic! How long has this been going on?" Esme exclaimed in delight.

Jasper simply raised his eyebrows.

"Just a little while, Esme," Bella replied sweetly.

Esme beamed.

Bella then turned to look at her other friends, the smile falling off of her face. "Now is not the time to discuss this, considering the recent events. And frankly, I'll give you guys a chance to figure out how important your friendship with me is before you say words you will never be able to take back. So yes, Edward's with me. And no, we're not talking any further about this tonight."

Then, as an after thought, she continued. "And I'll excuse your absolutely atrocious rudeness earlier to the fact that it's 4 in the morning, but don't make me make excuses for you any more."

Alice took in another deep breath, still incredible angry looking but taking Bella's words about choosing what she had to say to heart. Rosalie also gave a small nod. Jasper, who surprisingly enough didn't seem to have a problem in the first place, gave Bella a tiny grin.

Emmett, however, was unconvinced.

"That man is corrupt, Bella," he hissed. "Everyone thinks it. He's fucking obsessed with his job. He knows everything about any investigation in his division. He knows things that we shouldn't, as a company, know. He's dirty, Bella. And I'm not going to stand by and watch you get hurt, because, mark my words, he will hurt you."

A door closed.

Everyone seemed to hold their breaths before Edward appeared, having just exited Carlisle's room.

Everyone continued to hold their breaths.

"Well, McCarthy," Edward said evenly, his tone icy. "If you add 'Slander' under your skills on LinkedIn, I'd be more than thrilled to endorse you."

Bella choked back a laugh and then moved over to stand next to him. She refused to let him go up against them alone and instead stood by him as a partner…a partner she was proud to have.

"Lie to her all you want," Emmett bit back. "Lie to Carlisle, lie to everyone else. But you're not going to be able to convince me that you're not crooked, Masen."

Edward lip's curled back into a snarl.

"I actually make it a habit to avoid arguments, or really conversations in general, with people as obtuse as yourself. So you don't have to worry about me convincing you of anything."

"Listen here, you son of a bitc-"

"That's enough!"

The anger in Esme's voice was unmistakable.

"I'd say it's more than enough, actually," Bella said, glaring at Emmett, almost shaking with the anger she at his words. How dare he accuse Edward of things he didn't understand?

"Let's all go say a good night to Carlisle," Jasper suggested, ushering his wife away. Rosalie did the same with Emmett, albeit with a bit more force.

"We're glad you could be with us, Edward," Esme said gently, touching his bicep gently.

Edward nodded stiffly while Bella let out a snort and Esme followed the others and then they were alone.

"That went well."

Now it was Edward who snorted.

"Dealing with the mafia is preferable to handling your family."

* * *

That went well.

Twitter note: my Twitter got hacked and then I got locked and then I got locked out of the email associated with my Twitter account. So if you wish to follow me, you can now find me **real2carm2carm2**. Whoops.

This is the halfway point of the story - how are we feeling so far? As always, let me know.


	23. Chapter 22

Every single one of the employees of Cullen Consulting in the Chicago branch was on edge.

Their beloved CEO was in the hospital, recovering from a strange bout of illness that had come on so suddenly and had resulted in an ambulance arriving and police on the scene. Rumors swirled around the break rooms of the company, each speculation as varied as the next. Some had guessed he had been poisoned, but no statement had been released other than the fact that Carlisle Cullen was out of the office recovering and was expected back soon.

Bella was uncomfortable keeping everyone in the dark, especially since it prompted such distracting rumors, but she understood the necessity of it. It would be worse to alert people to the fact that Carlisle had been the target of a poisoning, a target placed by an unknown source who may strike again.

Everyone really knew something was up when they arrived to work a few days after the incident and there were new metal detectors at the entrance, as well as newly improved security badges for each and every employee. Additionally, all of the staff members who worked in companies housed in the same building but not on the company's floors were given new security badges.

Edward was leading the upping of security, but he was doing it behind closed doors and not drawing any attention to the fact that it was him who was making the changes. The man Bella had hired after he found all of that information on Edward, Mr. Marcus, had already been promoted to a dual position supervising firm security as well as working for the ISC unit under Edward.

On their first day back from Spain, both of them running on about three hours of sleep and some jet lag, Bella felt crushed under the weight of reality.

In Spain, her and Edward had been within seconds of each other for the entire week. They had been able to walk down the streets without fear that they were being followed. Edward was intensely private, but Bella knew how concerned he was about their new relationship. She had thought about it a lot on the silent plane ride back to Chicago.

Edward pushed people away.

It was his thing. His MO.

But she hadn't let him push her away. And now he was so concerned for her safety, so paranoid of what the Brigados would do, knowing that any affection for her existed.

Edward's fears had been revealed to her after the two of them had finished a bottle of incredibly fine Spanish wine one night in their hotel. Bella had plopped her head down on his lap and had snuggled into his thigh, looking up at him in pure contentedness. His lips had quirked up in a type of amusement as she made herself comfortable.

It was then that he had revealed the depths of his fears after she had teased him. "Good thing I'm persistent or we'd never be snuggled up in the middle of Spain together."

Edward had sighed and Bella winced at seeing her joking fall short. "Swan, this is going to be incredibly difficult to continue when we are in the states."

Bella had looked at him, unable to hide the immediate sadness that flooded her eyes at the thought. "What do you mean?"

"It's how they control people," he said lowly, looking away from her uncomfortably. "The Brigados. They rarely have to resort to violence to get what they want. Though, don't be fooled into thinking they don't use violence to control people. Often, they simply know each person's weakness. They know that the people they work with have spouses, children, parents…people they love. They bend people's will almost completely by threatening loved ones, not by physical violence. I've seen Roman kill a drug dealer's father when he didn't get his money in a timely manner and there's been countless others. It's how they run the world, Swan."

"But…what about you?" she asked, holding her breath as soon as the words escaped her mouth.

Edward had never mentioned his family before.

"Nothing. They have nothing. I suspect that's the reason one of the brothers does not trust me in the slightest. I have made every effort to have no ties so that no one's life will be in danger."

Edward then let out the heaviest of sighs and lifted his hand to stroke back her hair from her face, his touch gentle. "Every effort until you."

"How much danger am I in?" she asked quietly, leaning into his touch and drawing comfort from him.

Edward considered this before speaking carefully. "Should they become aware of you, I will tell them that I am attempting to use you to get closer to Carlisle. Unless…you have changed your mind."

Bella looked at him in confusion before realizing what he meant.

"I'm not changing my mind about this Edward," she insisted, touching his hand gently. "I don't think I could even if I wanted to."

Edward's shoulders relaxed just slightly at her words and he gave her an upward turn of his lips.

Those chilling words that he had said continued to run through Bella's mind as she would catch herself thinking of all of the things she wanted to do with him, all of the places she wanted to go to with him. Edward was intent to keep her hidden from the Brigados and Bella understood, truly she did, but it was tough.

So Bella plugged away at her Monday, doing her best to catch up on everything that she had missed over the week. It seemed like Victoria and all of the other HR staff had done alright and there wasn't anything catastrophic to attend to. She even found time to compose an email, even though the contents of which she was upset about.

 **From** : Isabella Swan

 **Subject** : Confidentiality

 **Date** : 7th, July 2015, 10:03AM

 **To** : Emmett McCarthy; Rosalie Hale; Jasper Whitlock; Alice Whitlock

 **Cc** : Carlisle Cullen

It is incredibly important that **all** of the events that occurred over the weekend, especially the most shocking one to you all, stay confidential. It is all very sensitive information, so please, keep it amongst yourselves.

Bella sent the email, even though it was cryptic. It was over company servers and while they were incredibly secure, she still didn't trust that brilliant minds would be able to hack into them. She glanced over at Rosalie's desk and saw the blonde look over to her computer, her eyebrows scrunching up while she read what was on the screen. She stared at the screen with a little bit of a scowl but then looked over at Bella and gave her a nod.

After lunch, Edward came to her office.

Bella saw him turn the corner and dared to hope that he was coming in her direction. He passed Rosalie, giving her a stiff nod. Bella saw that she nodded in return, stoic, but no longer hostile.

Edward entered. "I need you to do an additional round of thorough checks on every employee hired within the past 18 months."

Bella's eyebrows shot up. "By when?"

"As soon as humanly possible."

"Fantastic."

Edward did not reply to her response, but instead glanced out her window to admire her view of the city. Bella took the moment to take in his appearance. He looked tired. Others likely wouldn't notice, but compared to last week, he looked exhausted. He looked weary. He looked stressed. His entire being radiated tension and Bella's heart ached for him.

"Anything else?" she asked softly when he didn't look at her for a few moments.

Edward sighed and then reached into his pocket to pull out a small object and then placed it on her desk. "Here."

Bella saw that it was a key.

"It's to my apartment. The code to elevator is 7013821."

Bella grabbed at a piece of paper but he stopped her. "Don't write it down."

She winced. "701…what?"

Edward's lip twisted up just slightly and he repeated the combination.

"Why are you giving me this?" she asked. A week seemed like a short period of time to wait before asking someone to move in with you.

"I have been called by the Brigados tonight. I do not know how generous of a mood they are in, nor do I know if I'll be brought along on an outing similar to the one Memorial Day weekend." Edward stopped and let out the slightest of breaths, not meeting her eyes. "So, I am giving you this in case there is-"

"I'll be there."

Edward looked surprised and opened his mouth, looking as if he was going to protest but Bella stopped him.

"I'll be there," she repeated gently.

* * *

Edward pushed through the front door of an abandoned estate 35 minutes out of the heart of Chicago. Of course, it wasn't actually abandoned. It was well furnished on the inside: high ceilings, Italian marble, chandeliers, and the works. It was in a wooded area with no neighbors nearby.

He did not know what this was about, but he had information ready to leak to them about what Cullen Consulting knew of their dealings.

As soon as he had been let in the front door by a bodyguard, he was roughly grabbed by another, rougher than he had ever been handled before. Edward stiffened and was prepared to fight back, confident he could get out of the hold, but he resisted, knowing it was one of the Brigado's men. The man easily pulled the gun out of Edward's belt and patted him down, searching for any other guns.

Edward felt a sense of dread in his stomach.

Once the bodyguard was satisfied that he didn't have any other hidden weaponry, he pushed Edward forward, and Edward walked stiffly on his own, adjusting his shoulder harshly under the uncomfortable grip, a slight snarl forming on his lips. The man led him into what looked like a living room with no furniture, save a beautiful oriental rug. He kicked at the back of Edward's knees and he fell to kneeling position with a loud crack.

The bodyguard walked away.

Every instinct Edward had was screaming at him to get up and fight, but he resisted, knowing any mistake could be fatal.

After what seemed like ten minutes, Edward's knees began to ache. He was gritting his teeth and trying to center his mind and push any distracting thoughts away, including any thoughts of the mild, but irritating pain.

He heard voices come in from outside and saw Giovanni and Roman enter from the door which led out to the woods. Edward immediately inhaled the cigar smoke. He noticed Giovanni had a thin black cane in his hands and Edward recognized it from stories.

Luca had told him that his brother had killed many men with that instrument.

Fuck.

"Edward," Roman greeted, his voice lacking any fondness. "How was your vacation?"

The words were seethed.

Fuck. Fuck.

"Horrendous," Edward muttered, maintaining his kneeling position as the men approached.

"Your tan would disagree," Giovanni spat.

Edward's mind was spinning as he registered their anger and tried to anticipate what was going to happen. Tonight would not be the night he died. But there was certainly a possibility if not a probability that everything could go to shit.

"Unavoidable in the scalding heat," Edward said with disdain at the beautiful Spanish weather.

Roman's eyes narrowed as he circled Edward menacingly. "We needed you here, Masen."

"My apologies, sir. I did not have an excuse which Cullen would accept. For the safety of my position, I didn't dare upset him."

Giovanni barked out a harsh chuckle. "And instead you upset us."

Edward lowered his eyes. Best to appease them and move on, not point out the fact the impossible position that put him. Edward knew how little that would be appreciated given their current anger. "I am sorry."

Roman let out an unexpected laugh as he stopped circling. He looked at his nail beds in a decided lack of interest before saying, "Well, if the fool can put two and two together, he won't try to send my spy away from me again."

Edward's brow furrowed in mock confusion, though privately, he understood. "Sir?"

"The next time he thinks he owns you, he'll get more than just a spiked coffee."

It had been them.

Edward had known it. He had known it had to have been the Brigados.

He hadn't known it was because of him.

Fuck.

Edward didn't dare point out the fact that in their minds, Carlisle had no idea Edward was spying on the company. He didn't dare say anything. Not when Giovanni was looking at him with an evil glint in his eyes and a cane in hand.

Appease and move on.

Now was not the time to protest.

He stayed silent.

"So I'm allowing Giovanni to take a few liberties, Masen. Lest you forget who does own you."

Fuck.

At least he wasn't going to die.

"Giovanni," Roman said sharply, addressing his son. "Don't break anything major. I still have use for him."

"Yes, Father."

And with that, the mafia lord disappeared out the front door, not sparing Edward another glance.

"Well then," Giovanni said, standing behind Edward. The latter could hear the smirk in his voice. "Let's start with a lash for every day of your vacation."

Edward braced himself and heard a horrible whoosh through the air right before the hard instrument cracked down harshly against the top of his back, near his shoulder blades. Edward gritted his teeth, feeling an intense bite from the force of the strike.

Giovanni barely wasted a second before he assaulted Edward once again with the cane, a loud crack echoing through the silent room. The force was even more intense and this time Edward's back arched and he couldn't help but look up at the ornate chandelier before lowering his chin and staring stoically ahead.

The third lash made Edward throw up his head again and clench his jaw to prevent himself from allowing the harsh yell to escape his lips.

He wouldn't give Giovanni that pleasure.

By the forth strike, his whole body was quivering in pain.

"That one hurt did it?" Giovanni laughed. "Payment for that tan I suppose."

The fifth strike Edward almost let out the yell he was holding back. By then, he was panting thinly as his body shook from the pain of the beating. Giovanni was not a weak man by any means, and Edward knew he was not holding back.

The beating continued on through the rest of the days of his trip and then some. Each blow hurting worse than the previous and Giovanni seemed to be swinging harder and harder. Edward was shaking and panting and he could feel his eyes stinging from the pain. He realized that Giovanni wouldn't be satisfied until he completely humiliated Edward.

On about the 13th or 14th lash, Giovanni let out a grunt as he used all of his force to strike the cane alongside Edward's back and this time, he couldn't hold back the pained yell that emerged from his lips.

"Arhhhhhhhh!"

He was sure Giovanni had fractured at least two ribs.

"Get out."

With as much dignity as he had left in their eyes, Edward rose slowly to his feet. He surely would have crumbled to the ground without the adrenaline coursing through him to get out. He walked towards the door with his head up, ignoring the fact that his body was shaking and his back was on fire.

He grabbed his gun from the bodyguard and got out.

He had to get to the only comfort he knew.

He had to get to Bella.

* * *

Bella let herself into Edward's apartment a little past eight. It was filled with an unsettling quiet and most of the lights were off. She flipped on a couple lights and examined the place. She fought the urge to snoop a little bit and instead plopped down on the familiar couch with her laptop and got connected to his internet. The man had been kind enough to leave the 28 character wifi password written in an envelope addressed: _Swan_. It had made Bella grin

She worked on the security checks of all of the new employees in the last year and a half. She didn't know where Edward was or if he was in danger, but she could do what he asked her to.

Because otherwise her heart wouldn't be able to handle the worrying.

She typed away and gnawed on her lip as she worriedly glanced at the clock every other minute.

When she heard a key turning in the lock, she held her breath.

When Edward entered, a giant smile spread across her face in relief.

When Edward stumbled past her without a second glance, her smile dropped.

When she heard him enter the bathroom and heard a loud thud, she shot out of her seat.

When she entered the bathroom and saw him, her heart broke.

Edward was weakly hunched over the toilet seat, emptying the contents of his stomach into the toilet, making terrible noises. Bella saw immediately that his whole body was quivering and he had absolutely no color on his face.

"What happened?" she gasped, dropping to her knees beside him.

Edward didn't respond as he panted loudly, seeming to be done throwing up.

Bella touched his back in concern. "Edward?"

"Ahh!" Edward exclaimed in anguish, flinching away from her contact.

Now it was Bella who wanted to throw up as she jerked her hand away. "Edward," she said with tears in her eyes. "What happened?"

Edward's eyes were snapped shut as he inhaled and exhaled roughly as if it was taking him a great amount of effort to do so.

"This was a mistake," he said with a clenched jaw. "Leave."

"No."

Edward let out a groan and turned his face away from view, looking over towards the giant bath tub instead of her. "Swan…I don't want you to see this." It was said as a plea without any malice.

Bella blinked fiercely at the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. "I'm not going anywhere, Edward," she breathed gently.

When Edward didn't say anything. Bella pushed herself off the ground and went over to the Jacuzzi he was staring at instead of her. She pushed and turned a few knobs and buttons and then it turned on with a loud roar, filling immediately with hot water.

"Let me see. Please."

Edward blew out a slow breath and then hesitantly nodded.

And so the two of them worked so slowly to rid him of his suit. His jaw was clenched as if every movement pained him, and Bella wasn't sure it didn't. His body was still quivering from the aftermath of whatever he had been through. He stopped breathing when they removed his under shirt as the last piece of clothing save his boxers.

"Oh Edward," she gasped mournfully, seeing all of the angry red welts scattered across this back, covering it in different directions and angles. This time she couldn't blink back the tears as she saw how he had been beaten. She wiped the tears away angrily with her wrist. She didn't deserve to cry.

In response, Edward reached over to the cabinet beneath the sink they were near and pulled out the small bottle of blue pills that Bella recognized from the time he had been shot. His hands were shaking so bad that he was having trouble opening the container.

Bella heartbrokenly almost reached for the container but stopped herself, not wanting to humiliate him. Edward clenched his jaw and inhaled, calming himself enough to unscrew the lid and get out two pills and dry swallow them before Bella could even offer to fetch water.

The tub had filled up with hot water in record time. Bella reached over to make sure no jets were on, as she only assumed that would aggravate his back. "It's ready," she said weakly, even though she was trying so hard to be strong.

Edward, who was now resting his head against the corner of the cabinet with his eyes closed, glanced over at Bella weakly. "Swan, you have far too many clothes on to be taking a bath," he mumbled, closing his eyes again.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" she asked softly.

Not opening his eyes, his face grimaced in pain, he nodded.

Without hesitation, Bella pulled over her shirt and pants, ignoring the fact that she was shaking too. Neither of them moved to rid him of his navy boxers and so she left on her sports bra and underwear. They had only been dating for a week. They hadn't got that far and now was _absolutely_ not the time.

"Okay," she said, offering her hand to help him up.

Slowly, oh so slowly, the two of them moved into the tub, Edward sinking down in the middle with a loud hiss. Bella slid in behind him to be able to tend to his back. At hearing Edward's hiss, Bella bit her lip, unsure if this was a terrible idea.

When Edward didn't say anything, Bella reached over for a dry and fluffy washcloth and dipped it in the warm water. She then began to slowly press it against his back, wetting it gently as she wiped away a bit of blood that had reached the surface from some of the lashes. The marks were already forming angry welts on his back and she hoped since they hadn't drawn much blood that they wouldn't scar. When she pressed a few spots, he flinched more than others, leading Bella to conclude that some of his ribs were damaged and would have to heal on their own.

With each press of the wash cloth, Edward's shoulders began to soften until once Bella was finished they were relaxed.

Bella then leaned forward and placed the lightest of kisses on one of the marks.

And then another.

And then more after that.

Bella did her best to kiss away the pain from him, to absorb some of it from the incredibly brave man that she adored. She filled his back full of gentle yet intent kisses, trying to convey to him the depths of her care.

Oh, how she cared.

From her vantage point, Bella could see only Edward's back and the back of his head. Had she been facing him, she would have seen the way his eyes closed under her gentle touches as he finally allowed himself to absorb the comfort she was so fiercely determined to give.

She would have seen the tears he blinked away in response.

Because with every kiss she placed on his back, he fell deeper and deeper in love with Bella Swan.

And love was a dangerous thing in his world.

* * *

This chapter warmed and broke my heart. Yours too?

I wanted to post this before I head off to Italy (as always, I would adore any recommendations you had for Florence, Cinque Terre, Rome, and Cortona) as I am moving back to the United States after I return. I expect things to be a bit hectic, but I'll try to get an update out within the next couple of weeks. Check my new Twitter (real2carm2carm2) for updates.

Thanks for reading - all the love as usual.


	24. Chapter 23

Bella's life had taken a bizarre twist of events in the past couple of months.

She couldn't help but muse this over as she watched the taxi driver maneuver his car through the streets of Chicago, headed towards Lake Michigan. She was on her way to meet with Carlisle, Edward, and the assistant director of the FBI.

And the four of them would be spending the day fishing.

It had been five days since Edward had endured the beating from the Brigado's, his punishment for accompanying Bella to Spain on their work trip. His back was covered in absolutely horrendous purple bruises, each of them looking angrier than the next. Bella had trouble breathing every time she insisted on checking on them.

Carlisle felt that the situation with the Brigados was escalating rather than plateauing and he wanted to be ready for it to come to an end, sooner rather than later. And that involved the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Edward had informed Bella of it and she had thrown an absolute fit, demanding that she be present. She didn't trust either Carlisle or Edward to advocate for himself and she wanted to know what the hell was going on.

Edward and her had gotten into a verbal sparring and not spoken to each for approximately four hours before they finally calmed down.

So once Edward had agreed, powerless to resist the spitfire of a woman, Carlisle followed suit and told her what would be happening.

And that was fishing.

The four of them would all be arriving at different times to the marina where Carlisle was bringing his personal boat that was kept secure usually. The FBI agent, Chris Wilder, would be arriving in heavy disguise and Bella had been instructed to wear a hat and sunglasses and take a taxi. It made Bella's stomach church that all of these precautions were necessary in case any of them were being followed by the Brigado's.

"Here you are, ma'am," the driver announced, nodding over to the marina.

Bella thanked the driver and got out, immediately feeling the July heat as she stepped into the sun. The lake was sparkling in the sunshine and many boats were already out in the water. Bella pulled the brim of her baseball cap down lower and went to the docking area where Carlisle said he would be.

It only took a few moments before she spotted a head of coppery hair on a boat. Bella fought a smile at seeing Edward on the boat. Carlisle was near him and he seemed to be giving him directions about what to do with some thick ropes that were in his hands. Another man was nearby on the boat messing with some fishing rods. That man too was wearing a baseball hat and sunglasses.

Bella took her time approaching the boat, taking a moment to admire Edward in rare casual form. He was wearing jeans and a white v-neck shirt as well as aviators, blocking the sun from his eyes. It was one of the few times Bella had seen him without a suit and she had to admit it was a handsome sight.

Carlisle soon spotted her and gave her a warm smile and wave as she neared the boat. Edward's gaze followed his and he kept his face impassive when he saw her. Bella remembered that he was just being overly cautious and didn't want to show her any type of affection lest someone was watching them. She did catch the tiniest quirk of his lips though.

"Bells!" Carlisle greeted, offering her a hand to help her into the large boat. "Glad you could join us."

"I'd never miss a day of fishing with you, Carlisle," she replied wryly.

Carlisle was as healthy looking as ever. The doctors said he was lucky that he hadn't ingested more of it and his healthy lifestyle had allowed him to bounce back from the negative effects of the toxins quickly. He had returned to work a few days ago much to the delight of everyone at Cullen Consulting.

Edward smirked at her words and Carlisle just chuckled. "This is Chris Wilder, he'll be with us today," Carlisle continued, nodding over to the FBI agent who was decidedly disguised.

"Swan," he said with an uninterested nod as he continued to mess with the poles.

"Nice to meet you," Bella said politely.

"Let's not hang out here when we've got the open sea ahead of us!" Carlisle exclaimed, clapping his hands together in anticipation.

Bella realized there would be no discussion until they were safely away from Chicago. She settled down on a pleather bench while Carlisle went over to the steering wheel and before she knew it, they were pulling out of the marina and speeding along, ripping through the waves. The FBI agent stayed over on the other side of the boat, messing with some fishing poles and ignoring Edward and Bella for the most part.

After they'd put enough distance between them and the marina, Edward moved to sit down next to Bella.

He didn't necessarily sit down next to her like someone who he was dating. He sat down while holding himself stiffly, looking both wary and on edge. He looked uncomfortable at best and Bella wished she could ease some of that but she didn't even know where to begin.

So she figured she'd ask about what he knew.

"If the Brigados found out who this guy was and that you were meeting with him…what would happen?" Bella asked, barely audible over the whipping winds around them.

Edward ran his hand through his hair. "The Brigados are well aware of my work in criminal investigation. It would hardly be suspicious that I'm meeting with a member of the FBI about any of our ongoing investigations."

"Then why the secrecy?" Bella asked, gesturing with a nod to the fact that they were having a meeting on the middle of a lake.

"It doesn't hurt us to lay low," Edward explained quietly. "I am still unsure of how much the Brigados trust me. I don't know if they have ways of tracking me or spying on me. This boat has been locked up securely and we will be far enough out of ear shot to speak candidly. Plus, Carlisle and I both left our cell phones on land in the event that they have the capacity to tap into that."

Bella closed her eyes as she inhaled sharply.

It boggled her mind the sheer precariousness in which Edward's life was perched.

Boggled her mind and scared the hell out of her.

"Then why are we even having this meeting?" Bella wondered.

Edward looked out at the lake sharply, his jaw clenching before he released it and spoke.

"They're getting bigger, the Brigado's," he said, still not looking at her. "It isn't just Chicago anymore. They have hundreds and of men under their control. They're in Los Angeles, New York, Miami. They're in Colombia and Argentina and Mexico. They're in Russia and the Ukraine. They're in the Congo, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and they're in Malawi. They're making billions of dollars in selling weapons to terrorists and their human trafficking ring is growing exponentially. We're running out of time."

Bella shivered but fought to remain impassive. She couldn't let him know how frightened she was, lest he stop telling her what was going on. And she couldn't put the burden of comforting her on him when he was the one who likely needed comforting.

She didn't tell him how scared she was that she might lose him after she had only just found him.

Or how scared she was that no one would care if she did.

"And after the poisoning and the incident with Giovanni…Carlisle and I are concerned that the Brigados may be running out of patience with Cullen Consulting's ongoing investigation on them, despite the fact that they believe I have done everything to stall it. The increased security at the firm helps…but they can be creative in their own terrorizing."

This time Bella couldn't help but rub her hand over her face slowly.

"Brilliant."

Edward looked at her with a bit of a glare. "Swan, I told you, I'm the worst pos-"

"No," Bella stopped him abruptly. "No. I get to be upset about what you're saying right now without you telling me you're a monster. If nothing else, I get to be upset about the absolute liability this is from an HR standpoint. Do you hear me?"

Edward raised one pointed eyebrow.

"And _also_ ," Bella continued with a little bit more heat. "I get to be upset about what you're saying because I'm your girlfriend."

This time Edward looked at her with both eyebrows.

"You are? Since when?"

Bella glared. "You are an ass."

"I'm the ass because you invited yourself to be my girlfriend?" he said the last word in utter disdain but Bella recognized the playful tone in his voice.

"Yes. You're the ass. You are 100%, definitely the ass."

"I thought it was because I can't afford to be nice to people."

Bella rolled her eyes at his tone.

"No, you're just definitely the ass."

Edward shook his head a few times, his lips quirking up in the closest thing to a smile Bella ever saw. "Well at least I'm not presumptuous."

"You are exhausting."

"Is that better than being an ass or am I losing ground?"

Bella rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses and crossed her arms over her chest, settling back into her seat. She attempted to glare at him, but she couldn't fight the grin at his amused half smirk he was giving her.

Carlisle drove the boat for the better part of an hour to Bella's guess before they reached their "fish destination." Edward and Bella didn't say much and he continued to hold himself quite stiffly despite their brief verbal sparring. Bella contented herself with looking out at the water as they moved, happy to be next to Edward even if they weren't there for fantastic reasons.

Once they were far enough away from land, they tossed out their fishing lines without bait and Bella could feel the atmosphere shift to somberness.

"Well, I would rather skip the pleasantries and get right to work, if that's alright with you Carlisle?" Wilder said, adjusting his baseball hat and then pulling out a small notebook.

"Of course," Carlisle agreed, though Bella detected wryness in his tone.

"Swan, I'll be frank with you in saying I'm less than thrilled that you're here," Wilder said flatly, "But Carlisle insisted so I would appreciate as little interruption as possible and your absolute confidentiality."

Bella raised both eyebrows challengingly but also intoned, "Of course."

Wilder then turned to Edward then and Bella could see his whole body stiffen as he stood up from the bench and then crossed his arms over his chest.

"Masen, you're still taking notes after every encounter?"

Edward gave a tight nod.

"And where do you have those?" Wilder prompted, writing something down on his mini notepad.

"Under lock and key," Edward drawled.

"Where?" Wilder insisted.

Edward glared at the agent. "The location of those papers is only known to myself and Carlisle and will stay that way."

Well, and Bella…but she didn't add that.

"And the family trusts you?" Wilder asks impatiently. "Roman, Luca, Giovanni, they don't suspect you?"

"I would not be alive right now if they did."

At Edward's words Bella couldn't help but look over at Carlisle. The blonde met her eyes and she could see him let out breath he seemed to have been holding.

Wilder continued on, unfazed. "What are all of the countries Luca's been getting his victims from?"

"Ukraine, Russia, Malawi, Brazil, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia and I'm fairly sure they have domestic kidnapping operations for those willing to pay more for 'Made in the USA,'" Edward reported, looking uncomfortable and slightly hostile.

"Son of a bitch, we didn't know about Honduras," Wilder said to himself, writing it down. "We were able to get two of those girls from Luca's last auction out," Wilder continued to Edward, a hint of smugness in his voice.

"I'm sure the other 90% of slaves at that auction are comforted by that," Edward replied icily.

The remark was met with silence as Wilder processed his words.

"You'll want to direct your men to their New York operations," Edward ordered firmly. "They're weak there and have been having growing pains in taking over that drug ring. I'd also add some security to one of their senators who has yet to have thrown his support behind a bill that would deregulate the shipping industry in the area and allow the Brigados a much easier access to import their weapons and drugs into the country."

Wilder scribbled a few things down at Edward's frank words and Bella noticed a change in the direction of their conversation. Edward seemed to have grown impatient with the man and she wasn't even sure he trusted him.

"The Brigados do not travel if they do not have to and as such, Chicago is the heart of their operations. You do what you can with New York and California. Poke around in Miami if you must, but don't touch Chicago."

Wilder stopped his scribbling and looked up sharply. "We can't do that, Masen."

"Hardly surprising," Edward snapped. "All of it or just a certain part?"

"We can't stay out of Chicago. Chicago is their playground and the city has the largest rate of unsolved homicides in the country."

"They're not unsolved," Edward disagreed. "They just lack evidence for conviction."

"We can't stay out," Wilder repeated.

Edward raised an eyebrow in disdain. "I do not trust your men not to fuck everything up."

"Look. You're not moving fast enough for our taste, Masen."

"Your taste?" repeated Edward, acid in his tone.

Wilder didn't seem fazed by Edward's sharp glare and brooding stance. "We have made exceptions for the past two years to allow this little experiment of Carlisle's to go through. We've given you time and now that time is running out, as well as the Fed's patience"

"Remind me how successful all of your endeavors have been prior to this," Edward snapped scornfully. "Considering the fact that there is still an organized crime ring the size of a small country in the United States, forgive me for not putting much faith in the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

That comment finally seemed to irritate Wilder and Bella watched as he squared his shoulders and made his stance just as defensive as Edward's. As someone trained to recognize body posture, Bella continued to look between Wilder and Edward who were staring at each other in obvious anger.

"Wilder, may I ask what you're suggesting with this accelerated timeline?" Carlisle finally said. He didn't appear uncomfortable with the tension but he did look wary.

"We need trained agents going undercover in Chicago."

"No."

Wilder glared at Edward who glared right back.

"You need backup, Masen."

Edward snarled, "Your idiot men will get me killed, not provide backup."

"Look, other than you testifying against the lot of them, we need hard evidence. You haven't gotten it and they're only getting bigger and badder. And your testimony dies with you in the event of an incident, and then we have nothing other than some dubious notes."

Carlisle and Bella jumped in before Edward could reply.

"What the hell-"

"This is un-"

"Furthermore," Wilder continued, cutting them both off. "Your testimony is considerably less effective given that your own innocence may be difficult to prove."

Bella's jaw dropped open.

"Chri-"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Bella snapped, cutting Carlisle off and ignoring anything Edward was about to say. The agent's words had instantly ignited every ounce of anger and protectiveness that she possessed and she shot out of her seat.

"I'll do wha-"

"Are you telling me that he's been risking his life for years without a guarantee of his immunity and a guarantee of some type of witness protection?"

Wilder looked annoyed at her. "He isn't an agent. He's an employee of a privately held corporation who does business on contract with the FBI. He can hardly be granted to be at the same level of scrutiny of men and women who have devoted their entire lives to this nation's safety."

Bella was just seconds away from pushing him into the lake.

"Yes he can be and this conversation is going no further until you formally grant him full immunity."

Wilder gritted his jaw and stared at her.

"Swan…" Edward said warningly behind her.

"Bella, it's possible Wilder does not have that level of authority," Carlisle said gently though still casting a warning glance at Wilder.

The woman in question turned and glared at Edward. He still looked angry at Wilder's suggestions but was giving her a look, silently screaming his reminder that he could advocate for himself.

She didn't believe him.

"Carlisle's right," Wilder finally said. "I don't have that authority."

"Well find someone who does," Bella snapped. "Or this is done and we can head back to shore."

Wilder looked even more annoyed. He looked over at Edward as if they were suddenly allies and implored, "Masen-"

"No. You're not talking to him until you give me that guarantee."

"Why are you even here?" Wilder snapped. "This is not t a bring your girlfriend to work day, sweetheart."

"I'm Edward's Human Resource Representative. Now guarantee him full immunity."

She was in too deep with Edward to ever back out now. And she would be so upset if after everything, the man ended up in jail for whatever he did during his time as a spy. That wasn't a future she was prepared to accept and she had the power to do something about it.

Wilder huffed and grew more frustrated. "Look, I don't have time to get it through whatever brain you think you have in your skull, but let me say this-"

"One more word against her, Wilder, and you'll find yourself at the bottom of this lake."

As he spoke the cold words, Edward stepped in front of Bella as if he prepared to shield her from an imminent attack.

Wilder had the grace to look intimidated, but only for a brief second.

"You don't understand. I can't just do that," he said, gritting his teeth together as he addressed Bella.

"Why is that?" Bella asked challengingly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Because it'll give me leave to torture and kill others without fear of consequence."

All three of them looked over at Edward who had taken off his aviators and was continuing to glare at Wilder with a raised eyebrow and a stone cold face.

"He does not trust that I'm not dirty – that I'm not really Roman's man after all. He's keeping his options open." Edward then turned his steely stare back to the agent. "Am I close, Wilder?"

Wilder's chin jutted out and he refused to respond. "It goes against policy."

"Make an exception."

"I can't-"

"You can."

Wilder glared at Bella and everyone fell silent for a moment. Bella was too busy glaring back to notice that both Carlisle and Edward were looking at her with a mixture of exasperation and pride at her tenacity.

"You can and you will. Now."

Wilder let out a heavy sigh. "By the power granted to me as a federal agent of government of the United States of America, Edward Masen, you are hereby granted fully transactional immunity."

From the way Wilder was looking at Edward, Bella knew the man thought he had just made a huge mistake.

He truly believed Edward was with the Brigados.

* * *

I'm back in the States, survived a new job start, and a wedding. And we're moving right along with these two.

I can hardly imagine that Bella was the only one who wanted to push Wilder off the boat.

Cheers.


	25. Chapter 24

Bella was still reeling from the boat conversation the next day, a Sunday with the Cullen's. The fishing trip had not lasted long after Wilder and Edward finished up their tense conversation. Wilder was openly hostile to Bella because of her interference and Edward was even more hostile to him in response to his glares at Bella. Carlisle hadn't said much throughout the entire trip or even afterwards.

After they had got back onto land, Wilder had hastily exited the boat and Carlisle had also exited to go and talk to the owners of the marina about storing the boat there for a day or two. Bella had gone to the lower part of the boat where there was a small bathroom and mirror to make sure her hat and sunglasses largely concealed her identity.

Edward had followed her.

Bella found herself pressed with her back against the wall and Edward menacingly trapping her.

"I'm going to kill you."

"Well maybe I shouldn't have insisted on that immunity."

"Swan," he growled.

"Edward," she said with a little bit of a sigh. "I refuse to let you be treated like shit. Not in front of me. I refuse it, Edward."

"You are insufferable," he said, inching his head down closer to hers. "You're a stubborn, insufferable woman."

"Is that a complaint?" she asked, breathless from his close proximity.

In response Edward had crashed his lips down against hers. It hadn't been a gentle kiss; it had been animalistic and intense and she answered accordingly. She had wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him even closer to her, mindful not to grab his still bruised back. She had kissed him desperately and he had kissed her with just as much urgency.

They had broken apart far too soon and then gone their separate ways, laying low and hoping that no one was following them.

This Sunday at the Cullen's was different than other "family days." Emmett and Rosalie had gone on a weekend trip to Galena, IL because apparently Emmett had always had a desire to see the childhood home of Ulysses S. Grant. And then one of Alice's college friends was in town visiting and so they had every minute of their weekend planned out and Alice had to skip lunch with the Cullen's. Jasper had been excused from his hosting duties and got to escape the house and so it was just him and Bella who carpooled out to the Cullen estate.

Carlisle didn't mention anything about the exchange except when Jasper asked about it.

"How was the fishing?" Jasper asked over a sip of beer. "Catch anything?"

Carlisle gave him a grin and a shrug. "Couldn't get anything going for us."

"That's why we're having chicken!" Esme supplied with a grin.

Bella had given both Carlisle and Esme a funny look. She knew Carlisle was aware of Edward's situation, but she questioned the depth of Esme's knowledge on what all Edward's position entailed.

Esme had pulled Bella aside at one point before lunch when they were setting the table. She had given her a look so full of maternal affection it took Bella by surprise, despite being used to Esme.

"Edward's always welcome in our home, baby," she said with a soft smile.

Bella had sighed. "Your regular attendance might be down if Emmett catches wind of that offer," she said with a small amount of bitterness.

Esme rolled her eyes. "He just wants what's best for you. And since Edward aggravated him once or twice, he's convinced there's no way it could possibly be him that's best."

"But Esme, he was just so damn rude…"

"Oh we had words," Esme said firmly. "I told Emmett that if he ever pulled that crap again I would be more than disappointed with him and he wouldn't be welcome in my home."

"You did?" asked a shocked Bella.

"I also want what's best for you, Bella," Esme said with a twinkling smile.

The day had been quiet and Jasper and Bella decided not to hang around the Cullen's for very long. They got into Jasper's Mercedes and began speeding back into the city. Jasper fiddled with the radio a little bit and hummed along softly and Bella was content to just look at the window, trying to envision a scenario where Edward and Emmett could be in the same room together and both make it out alive.

"Bells?" Jasper asked.

Looking away from the window, Bella hummed in response, watching as Jasper turned down the radio and looked at her.

"What's up?" she asked.

"Tell me what's up with Masen, please."

Bella schooled any look of surprise, though inwardly she immediately panicked and wondered how much he knew about Edward.

"What do you mean?" she asked, trying to be nonchalant.

Jasper looked over at her a second before turning his gaze back to the road in front of them. "How deep are you in with him?"

Bella considered the question for a moment. After a small amount of silence, Jasper looked back over at her. There was no malice in his eyes as there would be in Emmett's or Alice's. He was looking at her calmly and openly.

"Umm…deep."

Jasper was silent as he switched from the right lane to the left.

"How long?" he asked, still calm.

Bella thought about how to phrase her answer. "It's been in the works for most of the summer." Except the week where he ignored her. And the other few times where he didn't want to see her.

"Do you think he's a good guy?"

Bella leveled him with a warning stare, silently telling him that she was not going to get into this with him.

Jasper held up his hands in defense. "Bells, you're fucking awesome at your job. You haven't given us an employee who any of us haven't loved. You have good judgment. I trust it. Just…tell me that I can trust him too."

"You can."

Jasper nodded as he moved into a different lane, continuing to watch the cars in front of him before he looked over at her.

"I do," he said. "I do trust him. I don't know what the hell it is because God knows no one else does, but there's something about him that makes me believe he's a good man under all of his bastardness, and that he'll be a good man to you."

Bella smiled while he was talking but at the last part she frowned and then let out a sigh. "Jasper, I don't ne-"

"I know you don't need my approval or the approval of Emmett or anyone else," Jasper said with an eye roll. "Hell, you don't even need our advice. I trust your judgment and so do they, but they forget that that judgment extends to men as well. And with our family, I don't think it hurts to know that you have someone in your corner with him."

Bella softened and looked over at him with a smile. "I think you're right," she said lightly.

"He's been through some shit, hasn't he?" Jasper asked, just as softly.

Bella sighed. "That'd be a fair assessment, yeah."

The two were quiet as Jasper merged off of the main highway and turned in the direction of Bella's neighborhood. Bella was thinking about the fact that she wasn't sure she knew half of the shit Edward had been through…shit that didn't look like it was going to end any time soon.

"I'll work on Alice," Jasper finally said.

"With Edward?" asked Bella.

Jasper nodded. "She's such a stubborn little thing that it might take a little bit, but she also hated me at first and now look at us."

"I'm not sure she ever hated you as much as Edward," Bella said with a bit of a chuckle.

Jasper grinned. "Maybe not, but she comes around. She does like to believe that people are inherently good, life just brings them down. So I'll work on her."

"Thank you," she said sincerely. As much as she had meant her threat about being with Edward, she didn't want to really lose her nearest and dearest friends and makeshift family.

"No promises about Emmett," Jasper smirked. "I don't know if he needs anything other than a roundhouse kick in the head to be honest with you."

Bella huffed in annoyance. "Oh believe me, I know."

"Esme's already adopted Edward, despite any concerns that he might not be interested." Jasper told her. "She made the comment to me that she'd work on Emmett if I worked on Alice and with a little bit of effort and some luck, this weird little family of ours could just get a little bit bigger."

Bella grinned but rolled her eyes. "Of course she has," she said fondly.

Jasper laughed. "But she has her work cut out for her though with Em."

"He's an ass," Bella complained.

Jasper let out a laugh. "So is Edward, Bells," he said good naturedly as he turned onto the street her house was on.

"Well…yeah."

He was.

But God did she like him.

Jasper slowed down the car as they approached Bella's brownstone before coming to a complete stop altogether on the side of the road. "Why do you have a garage if you park your car on the street?" he teased, nodding at the car in front of them on the road.

"I'm getting a new couch so the old one is in the garage," Bella explained with an eye roll as she started to exit the car.

"Oh hey!" Jasper remembered suddenly, "Do you still have the Cain book for me to read?"

Bella thought for a split second. "Yes! I do, I've had it in my car for the past week but I keep forgetting to bring it into the office. I can grab it for you now if you want."

Jasper gave her a grin. "That'd be much appreciated."

Bella got out of Jasper's car and started digging through her purse, hoping that on the off chance her keys were in there, she wouldn't have to go into the house to grab them. She dug to the bottom of the purse and then triumphantly found the key chain in which all of her keys were on. She took them out of her purse with a satisfied hmph and then walked towards her car, pressing the unlock button and waiting to hear the muted click.

Instead of that noise there was all of the sudden a blinding light and a horrible boom that Bella had never heard before.

Bella felt herself being thrown back from the hot light and vaguely registered that she landed harshly onto the sidewalk behind her, her head whipping back from the movement. All she felt was immense heat and she struggled to roll away from the light, moving completely on pure instinct as a loud ringing registered in her ears.

The smell of smoke filled her nostrils and Bella furiously blinked as the light vanished and a wall of thick gray smoke overwhelmed her instead. Bella continued to roll and scramble away from the fiery heat and she felt her hand hit something sharp as she was frantically escaping.

Horrible ringing filled her ears and the noise was so intense she felt it would split her head. Somehow, over the ringing she heard her name being called, but it sounded as quiet as a whisper.

"Bella! Bella!"

She crawled backwards away from the smoke and heat and she didn't stop when her hands found grass, she kept going. She only stopped when she got far enough away from the heat that she didn't feel as if she was going to start on fire. Over the ringing and the stingy smoke in her eyes and overall disorientation, Bella registered hands finding her arms and moving as if they were trying to pull her upwards. She felt suddenly as if she was made of cinder blocks instead of flesh and bones.

Jasper was trying to stand her up and get her further away. "Bella, come on, Bella."

She felt a vague sense of relief as she registered that Jasper was alright.

"Edward," she choked out, unsure if she was yelling or whispering, "Call…him," she said with a cough, her head pounding with the motion.

Jasper continued to try and get her to stand and she tried to help him but her legs were shaking so badly she could only manage a few steps before she wanted to crumble back down to the ground. Jasper continued to urge her to walk before finally the air was cooler as they had made it away from the fire and smoke and Bella was finally able to blink some of the smoke out of her eyes that had been searing up until that point.

"Masen…" Bella heard over the ringing in ears that was bringing tears to her eyes, spilling over her cheeks. "It's Jasper, you gotta get over to Bella's house. Her car just fucking blew up. She's alright I think. Yeah I'm trying to get her away but my car is on fire. Yes. Alright. Okay. Yes. Bye."

Bella held her hands over her head and pressed down as if that would relieve some of the pressure on her head both from the horrendous ringing in her ears and the sharp pain she felt in the back of her head where she had made contact with the sidewalk. Through the pain, a memory of Edward saying "The cement usually wins that battle," continued to surface in her mind over and over in a mocking loop.

Jasper was crouching down next to her, one of his hands on her back as he looked ahead.

The sound of sirens began to echo in the air as neighbors up and down the street stepped on to their front stairs and gawked at the sight of what was left of Bella's car. Bella lifted her eyes to follow their stares and saw that only half of the structure of her car still remained and was completely engulfed in bright flames, a cloud of thick gray smoke lingering above the car menacingly. Bella blinked against the sting in her eyes to that the front of Jasper's Mercedes was also on fire but was still intact.

The roof of Bella's car was engulfed in flames near her front door where it had been blasted.

Sirens got closer and Bella recognized the specific sound of a fire truck. She thought to herself that that was probably a good thing since one of the trees that lined the road was catching fire from the explosion.

Before the emergency responders arrived, Jasper turned his head behind him. Bella followed his gaze, thinking it was a fire truck but instead, she instantly recognized Edward's Aston Martin zooming towards them, traveling at an alarming speed for being in a residential neighborhood.

"Masen's here," Jasper was saying, patting her back gently. It felt like he was shouting the words and Bella winced at the noise, even though the sharp ringing had lost some intensity.

The car came to a screeching halt and Edward flew out of the passenger seat. He was wearing navy dress pants and a white button up shirt and his face conveyed no emotion. But Bella could see through his stoic and determined face and his tense body.

She could see his terror.

"The police should be here in a sec," Jasper said, but Edward ignored him.

Edward gracefully ran over to where Bella was huddled on the ground and without a word, he scooped her up in his arms as if she was made of plush. He held her close against his chest and Bella could feel the rapid pounding of his heart.

Bella let out a groan at the movement, wincing in discomfort.

"I'm here, Swan," he murmured gently. "I've got you."

The thought was the biggest comfort of all.

All of the pain she was only vaguely registering seemed to dull with his presence and the protection of his body.

"I'm getting her out of here," Edward snapped to Jasper as he strode towards his car with Jasper trying to keep up next to him. "Tell the police what happened, but tell them she wasn't home."

"She should probably go to a hospital," Jasper said in confusion and Bella could hear the sirens getting even closer. "An ambulance will be here in a sec I'm sure."

"I'm okay," Bella said with another wince. She hurt and she was disoriented as hell, but she didn't think she had any gaping wounds.

Edward gracefully bent down and opened the passenger door to his car, taking care not to jostle her too much. "I do not trust anyone with her," he told Jasper tensely, "I'm taking her somewhere safe until I know more."

Bella squeezed her eyes shut, trying to squeeze away the pain in her head as Edward lowered her down onto the leather seat. The instant she was situated, he was pulling away and closing the car door. He said only one more thing to Jasper before he was jogging around to the driver side of the car and sliding in. They peeled away from the curb almost as soon as Edward was seated and they were racing out of the neighborhood. Bella saw a fire truck pull in behind them in the rearview mirror.

As the realization that Bella's car had truly exploded in front of her set in, she felt a great sense of fear begin to gnaw at her.

She knew it hadn't been an accident. It could have been a fluke, and if it had been anyone else's life, perhaps she would easily accept that answer. But Bella knew, she knew within the very depths of her being and with every instinct she had that it had been a freak accident.

It had been an attack.

She looked over at Edward who was gripping the steering wheel so hard Bella was sure he would pull it off. His eyes burned with anger and his entire body radiated tension. If looks could kill, Edward would surely be murderous.

"Edward," Bella whimpered.

The man looked over at her and something within him seemed to break as he saw her own scared face. A look of anguish passed across his face.

"Where are we…going?" she asked quietly, interrupted by a cough from her irritated throat.

Edward's eyes remained on the road. "I have a property up north, property that no one knows about…where you will be safe." His voice strained at the last words.

Bella rubbed the back of her hand against her irritated eyes. She noticed that the palm of her hand had a sharp gash in it and the blood had flowed down her wrist and had been dried by dirt and grime.

"Swan," he started but then tensed. "Swan," he tried again. "I…I am so, so very sorry."

"Edward…what happened?" she asked weakly.

His jaw tightened and the murderously cold look appeared on his face once again as he stared in front of them and pushed his car to the very limits of speed he could get away with.

"They know about you. And they tried to kill you."

* * *

The ball has officially started rolling and won't be slowing down for the rest of the story. Hang on tight.

Let me know what you think - I am always so appreciative of your thoughts and reviews.

Next chapter finds these two in the middle of the night with a fire, some alcohol, and lots to talk about, including Edward's past. Wonder what else that combination could lead to...


	26. Chapter 25

**From** : Rosalie Hale

 **Subject** : Out of Office Update

 **Date** : 29th, July 2015, 10:03AM

 **To** : Human Resources

Bella Swan is out sick; she will be taking the next few days to recover. Any concerns about Bella's schedule should be addressed to myself. Any questions regarding human resources should be directed to Justine Martin.

~O~

 **From** : Arlene Sherils

 **Subject** : Masen PTO

 **Date** : 29, July 2015, 8:03AM

 **To** : Investigation and Specialized Crime

Edward Masen will be out of office for the next week. He will be enjoying his Personal Time Off and will be unable to be reached via cell phone or email. Please contact division coordinators with any problems.

* * *

Edward drove like a madman from Chicago. He drove faster than Bella had ever seen and he stayed on busy roads, weaving in and out of traffic as if he was racing someone and so clearly winning. He was constantly checking the rearview mirror, seeming to be concerned that someone was following them.

Bella couldn't say how long they drove because she didn't pay attention, she just felt dazed.

Her car had blown up.

She had to keep repeating it to herself as she held her hands in her lap and twisted her fingers together tightly over and over.

It had blown up.

Since the day she had learned about about Edward's role as a spy, she had known he lived in a world of danger. She had known but she had been unable to resist the overwhelming urge to be around him – in any way that she could.

She had known.

But as she twisted her fingers tightly in her lap she realized that there was a difference between knowing something and really understanding it.

And now she really understood.

She was frightened.

As a rule, Bella was not easily intimidated. She didn't back down in the face of difficulty or uncertainty – she thrived under it. She was not a fearful person by nature and she never had been.

But even with that, and all that she knew and believed to be true about herself, she couldn't escape the sort of numb fear that cradled her as she sat in Edward's Aston Martin, zipping towards the north woods of Wisconsin.

Before the sun could even be bothered to begin its descent, Edward was slowing down the car and pulling into a dirt road. They had entered increasingly dense forestry about forty miles ago and Bella had caught site of a lake through the trees. Edward's car hardly seemed appropriate for the north woods but she realized he might not have been planning this.

She would later learn that it should have been a six-hour drive and Edward did it in under four.

"Here we are," Edward said unnecessarily after turning off the car at the end of the dirt road where a modest log cabin was nestled amongst the trees. In the distance behind the house, she could see bright blue waters.

Bella examined the cabin in front of her with the same sense of numbness. It was a two story house which truly did look like a cabin with it's brown logs lining the structure. It didn't look well used – the windows were all closed and drawn and the landscaping had gotten unruly. There was a porch in the front that wrapped around behind the cabin and two old rocking chairs were positioned on the side facing the lake.

She loved it.

She would have loved it more enthusiastically had they not been using it as a safe house.

Edward cleared his throat. "It is not particularly luxurious, but it'll suffice," Edward said when she didn't reply.

She thought she detected nervousness in his voice but that couldn't be right.

Not her Edward.

Bella nodded but didn't say anything.

Edward got out of the car wordlessly and Bella moved to get out of her seat as well. Edward walked around to her side of the car and opened the door before scooping her gracefully into his arms again.

"I can walk," she protested quietly, wincing at the jostling to her head.

"Fantastic," he said, showing no intent to set her down.

Bella didn't bother to fight him and instead just let herself rest her head against his shoulder, feeling weaker than ever. Edward's grip tightened.

They made it into the cottage which Edward unlocked without setting her on her feet. Bella looked around her and took in her surroundings with the same vague curiousness she had shown just moments before.

It was rustic and looked like a typical hunting lodge or recreational cabin. The walls were made of pine logs and the furniture looked old and worn yet still warm and inviting. There was a large stone fireplace which Bella guessed could easily heat four homes with it's sheer size. There was a modest kitchen to the left of the entry way and an open stairway that led to a lofted second floor, leaving the entire space open and airy. Bella noticed that the railing looked hand crafted out of intricate twigs and eyed it with numb interest.

Edward was watching her as she looked around and for a moment it seemed like he had forgotten his anger. He now seemed only intent on her and her comfort and satisfaction. Some might use the word doting but only if they didn't know better.

"It's nice," Bella said honestly.

Edward rolled his eyes. "It will suffice," he repeated dryly, but relaxed slightly.

Bella mulled over the way in which he seemed to find the cabin both lacking yet regard it with some sort of fondness. Edward walked over towards one of the dark red couches with log arm rests and then gently deposited her on to it. Bella let herself be set down and then eyed him as he crouched in front of her.

"What hurts?" he asked softly, pain in his usually emotionless eyes.

"Head," Bella answered honestly. "The ringing has been fading but the back of it really hurts."

Strong fingers gently probed at the back of her head until they grazed over a tender spot and Bella winced. He brushed over the tender spot and Bella grimaced once again. "Tender," he murmured before he pulled back his hands and nodded. "I can try to find something for the pain. ….heads aren't necessarily meant to break falls."

"Noted."

"Anything else?" he asked, brushing a lock of hair out of her face. "Do you feel dizzy? Nauseous?"

"No," she said quietly. "Not really."

Edward nodded to himself once again and then fell silent. He remained where he was on the floor on his knees.

If ever there was someone who deserved to have him kneel before them, it was her.

Bella pulled her knees up against her chest and wrapped her arms around them, hugging herself into a ball like she used to when she was younger. Edward watched her with weary eyes. They stayed like that and the minutes seemed to pass until Bella finally spoke.

"Edward…what happened?"

He let out a sigh. It was a heavy, exhausted sound, full of regret and anger.

"I am not entirely sure."

Bella signed. "Edward. Your _not entirely sure_ is better than most people's certainty. Talk to me."

Edward shook his head and remained silent. Bella stared at him, waiting.

His jaw tightened. "I believe it was the Brigados. It's possible it was someone else, but I do not think this was an accident. I've seen them do this very thing before so I know they're capable of it."

Bella nodded numbly.

"I believe the car was supposed to be in your garage," Edward continued with some hesitance. "Since it is connected to your house, the explosion would have done a lot more damage than just lighting one of your trees on fire."

"Oh."

Bella considered this for a moment before letting out the breath she had been holding.

"Was I suppose to be in that car?" she asked slowly, her voice cracking.

Edward frowned deeply.

"I don't believe they meant to kill you," he finally answered.

 _Of course not._

Edward's jaw tightened and she saw the absolute fury in his eyes as he stared past her and finally spoke again.

"They're using you to control me."

Neither of them said a thing.

Neither of them moved.

Bella was fairly certain neither of them breathed for far longer than a moment.

"I'm-" Bella finally said but was interrupted by a gasp for breath that surprised her. "I'm so sorry, Edward."

And she realized that gasp was the beginning of a bout of sobs that she could not longer hold off, despite all of her best efforts.

Edward was at her side on the couch in an instant and the second he had an arm around her shoulder, she let out a loud sob she'd been holding in for hours. The tears were flowing freely by the time he pulled her into his lap and wrapped his arm around her waist and used his other hand to stroke her hair.

Shuddering sobs wracked through her body as she cried herself hoarse, unable to stop herself and contain all that she had been feeling.

As she cried, Edward held her, one arm wrapped securely around her waist and the other cradling the back of her head.

He didn't say anything.

He didn't ask her to stop crying.

He didn't promise her it would be alright.

He didn't coo at her that it would be okay.

He was silent through her tears.

But he held her tighter than either of them realized.

He offered her the only comfort he could give.

He offered her his body as a shield from the rest of the world.

He offered his protection, every ounce he had.

His arms held her firmly and they offered her such comfort within the strength of their warm. She could occasionally feel his nose or the side of his face pressed against the top of her head, or a kiss on the crown of her head as her sobs eventually subsided into soft cries without any tears.

As the tears faded, Bella felt her exhaustion began to drag her into sleep and she didn't fight her heavy eyelids from closing. She could sleep because Edward had her; he had her tight in his arms and that was all that Bella needed at the moment.

Right before she lost consciousness she heard Edward speak. He spoke quietly but as solemnly as if he was making an oath with the Devil himself.

"I will keep you safe, Swan," he vowed. "I swear I will."

* * *

When Bella awoke, she felt a dull ache in her head but the blasted ringing in her ears was gone. She moved around and tested several limbs for pain and was relieved when nothing seemed to alarmingly ache. As she moved she realized she was lying in a bed, which is not where she remembered falling asleep.

She looked around and saw there was a soft glow illuminating the space. For a second, she was entirely disoriented until she remembered the events that had led to her falling asleep. The night clock next to her said it was 3:22 in the morning. So why was there a light?

Bella moved slowly into a sitting position as her head whirled with questions. She moved hesitantly until she was standing up and tip toeing gingerly a few steps, testing her balance and being pleasantly surprised that she was not swaying. She realized she was in the lofted second floor bedroom of Edward's cabin and she then immediately wondered where he was.

As she began to pad softly towards the stairs, the dim light flashed against glass and Bella's eyes narrowed in on the picture frame. It was situated just at the top of the stairs and was a modest, 5 by 7, black frame. Out of curiosity Bella walked to the top of the stairs and leaned in closer almost gasping at what she had found.

It was Edward.

A young Edward, but it was him.

And he was with a woman who absolutely had to be his mother. The woman looked to be in her late 30's, early 40's and she was standing proudly with her copper hair shining in the sun and eyes bright and excited. A younger Edward was standing tall next to her and in front of them was a little boy. The boy must have been not old enough to be in high school but old enough to have began to shed his baby fat.

He looked just like Edward.

The boy was wearing a graduation cap, failing miserably at covering his mess of red hair. He had a goofy grin and the three of them looked so painfully content that Bella's heart filled at the thought of Edward being loved unconditionally.

"Henry's graduation from 6th grade."

Bella whirled around at the sound of Edward's voice. She didn't locate him immediately but then when she looked down towards the source of the light, she found him.

He was sitting with his back to her, facing the great stone fireplace which had a modest fire illuminating the room. He wasn't looking at her and Bella saw the glass in his hand. Bella looked back at the picture and gave the young boy a small smile now that she knew his name.

"He died three years later," Edward said into the vast space, still not looking at her.

Bella's heart broke looking at the smiling boy who she would have believed to have been Edward had he not also been in the picture. She let out a small breath.

"She died in May of that year from Guillain-Bare Syndrome; it came on suddenly and her body wasn't strong enough to fight it off. He was killed three months later when he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and had a bullet put through his skull."

Bella couldn't help the gasp that escaped her lips before she could cover her mouth.

She closed her eyes and felt her heart grow so heavy with this new information.

She'd never asked about his family before because he had never wanted to talk about it. She never knew.

It took every ounce of strength she had to not rush down to where he was sitting and throw her arms around him. She did know him, and he was a proud man and he never took kindly to be weakened by other's actions. Instead, she moved down the stairs slowly and cautiously, watching to see if his head turned towards her.

It didn't.

Eventually Bella made it to the bottom of the stairs and then padded across the hardwood floors to sit next to him on the couch. He didn't look at her and only continued to stare at the flames in front of him, taking another swig out of whatever alcohol he had found to drink at three in the morning.

"I'm sorry," Bella finally said, tucking her legs underneath her. She noticed that there was a thick bandage over the palm of her hand that she remembered slicing open.

Edward let out a humorless chuckle. "What are you apologizing for, Swan?" he asked, taking another drink.

"For what happened to your family," she said quietly, knowing she was treading on difficult territory.

Edward was silent.

"Fate," Edward finally said in consideration, "…She has always seemed to have it out for me."

His tone scared her.

Edward stared directly into the fire as he spoke.

"My _father_ ," he said the word with a sneer, "left my mother just months after my conception. He came back around just long enough to impregnate her one more time before drinking himself to death in New York City. My mother was taken by a sickness some physicians had never even heard of. And I was left with my 15-year old brother, even though I was at university, states away. Before I even had to figure out what to do and how I was going to raise a teenage boy, he was murdered by some thugs for seeing something he shouldn't have.

"And now, Fate has given me you. You, this completely insufferable, maddeningly stubborn and bossy woman – this woman who is so good and so full of potential to leave the world better than how she found it –" Edward broke off with a jerk of the head. "And that bitch has decided She is going to try to take you away from me as well.

"So no, Swan," he finished solemnly. "I don't need your apologies. I need to get drunk."

Bella was speechless. She had never heard such true loathing from Edward before, nor had she ever seen him have more than one or two drinks. She had never seen the haunted expression in his eyes and she had certainly never imagined that his past contained so much hurt and sadness.

With a sigh, Bella reached to the nearby table and grabbed the bottle of Captain Morgan and lifted it to her lips and took a pull straight from the bottle.

Edward watched her wordlessly, one of his eyebrows cocked.

Bella settled into the couch, keeping the bottle in her hands and staring at the fire in front of them. "Was it the Brigado's?" she asked without looking at him. "That killed your brother?"

"No."

"Oh."

Edward stared darkly into the fire and the silence seemed louder than any boom of thunder could ever be.

"It was not the Brigado's. I did not sell my life over to Carlisle and Roman to avenge my brother's murder so you can dismiss that dramatic notion."

Bella wasn't going to say it hadn't occurred to her.

Instead, she took another drink from the bottle.

"Henry saw a drug deal gone wrong and the police records show he was calling 911 when they noticed him and shot him," Edward explained with acid. "It was some bastards, _not unlike the Brigado's_ , who had enough money and enough connections that they got away with it. There was no trial, no justice. They cut some type of deal and barely got a slap on the wrist because our justice system is corrupt and our police officers are easily bribed."

Edward shook his head angrily to himself before continuing his diatribe. "He never even should have been there that night. He should not have been in that part of town and he should have never tried to call 911. And that's hardly his fault as there was a severe lack of parents in his life. Except myself, of course, who handled parenting with such grace that my ward was dead within months."

Bella mulled this over. Her thoughts were moving slowly and with the same sort of numbness that her mind had been experiencing ever since the bomb. She was intentionally slow to emotion and knew Edward would not appreciate sympathy or tenderness from her. He was angry, and he had the right to be, so she refrained from attempting to coddle him.

Not that Edward Masen was a man who could be coddled in the first place.

"So it wasn't the Brigado's, but when Carlisle offered this position to you, did you see them as one in the same?" she wondered, voicing her thoughts. "Was this some type of penance for you?"

"A+, Swan."

"And now you're stuck in the middle of two bosses. One which has a bleeding heart and believes in the greater good, and the other who could kill you at any moment if he so chooses? Each of whom are constantly expecting information about the other to lead to their ultimate demise?"

"And _that_ ," Edward raised his glass mockingly, "Is why I am drinking."

Bella rubbed her face tiredly. She was having such a difficult time realizing that this was the life she had gotten wrapped up in – at her complete and utter insistence.

"You should have stopped me when I was telling you about my parent's divorce. Just sounds like I was whining in comparison."

With a roll of his eyes, Edward took another sip of his drink and then rested his head on the back of the couch so that he was staring up at the ceiling. "You're ridiculous, Swan."

Bella didn't comment and instead took another drink, feeling the immediate burn of the alcohol making its way through her body. She shuddered.

"Was he an ass?" she asked finally with a slight grin. "Your brother?"

Edward let out a dismissive breath. "I had a complete claim on that characteristic. Henry was a good kid; no one ever had a bad thing to say about him."

Bella smiled to herself at the thought of a mini-me chasing after Edward, a happy go lucky kid who no one had any trouble liking. It made her smile, but God did it make her so filled with sadness.

Edward rolled his head to look at her, his eyes gradually softening since calling her ridiculous. "I'm completely confident that he would have adored you, and I'm sure it would have been a mutual affection, given your constant need to mother everyone and everything."

Bella gave him a small grin, entirely pleased with the comment.

"It's not constant…"

"It is."

Bella smiled softly despite her and then sobered her expression. "Edward, I want you to know that I was stubborn enough to get myself into this and I'm stubborn enough to be there with you through it all. I know I kind of lost it earlier, but I want you to know that I'm in this. That bitch isn't taking me from you without kicking and screaming."

Edward didn't immediately reply. He reached over with one hand and gently stroked one of her cheeks. Bella's eyes fluttered closed at the feeling of his warm knuckles brushing against her skin.

"I don't mean to alarm you," Edward said lowly, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear. "But I think we skipped the stage between dating and tying our mutual lives and afterlives together."

Bella smirked. "My fault I'm sure."

Edward leaned in closer and Bella felt her whole body alert from his proximity. "It is. Because apart from being completely insufferable…you're also utterly exquisite." Edward leaned down and placed a kiss on her temple. "Completely…" Kiss. "And utterly…" Kiss. "Exquisite."

And here he found her lips.

"I will get you out of this, Swan," he vowed before devouring her lips.

Bella almost moaned immediately at the feeling of his lips pressed so confidently against her. He didn't pull back and instead deepened the kiss, gently sucking her lower lip between his own. Bella eagerly leaned into him, the warm taste of rum mingling between them.

With a heavy breath, Edward pulled away and moved to start kissing her neck, his breath warm against her skin and making her shiver from the contact. "Edward," she breathed, toes curling and back arching as he suckled on a sensitive patch behind her ear.

Edward stopped his ministrations and rested his forehead against her shoulder, his own shoulders rising and falling faster than normal. "Swan, if we keep going, I'm not sure I'll be able to stop."

"I'm not sure I want you to."

At this, Edward raised his face, his lust filled eyes locking with hers. "You're certain?"

"I'm yours Edward," Bella breathed, kissing his cheek lightly and lightly dragging her nose against the slight stubble growing in. "I've been yours since the beginning."

Edward lifted her face away from his with a gentle tap of her chin. When her eyes once again found hers, he stared at her for a moment and in that moment, Bella knew. She knew as she looked at the man in front of her that he was it.

He was the one who her soul was meant to find.

There would never be another - and she didn't want there to be.

He was it for her.

Bella's hands went up to the white button up shirt Edward was still wearing. The top few buttons were undone, but Bella took it upon herself to rid him of the rest of his shirt. She took her time, revealing more of his muscled body with every button that slid out of place until finally it was hanging open in front of him. Edward watched as Bella looked at his body revealed to her and when she placed two hands on his pecs and felt his skin against hers, something in his gaze snapped.

Edward helped get Bella out of her own clothing, not bothering to peel them off slowly. The clothes were discarded everywhere as neither one cared for the suspense, not when they knew the feeling which skin on skin contact would provide. Bella gasped at the feeling of his warm chest laying against her naked torso and immediately missed the contact when he pushed himself off of her and pulled back to look at her.

"Bella," Edward said with a groan, stroking her breasts gently. His fingertips traced against her erect nipples and Bella gasped at the contact. "Oh how beautiful," he muttered to himself, shaking his head as he took the sight of her in with awe. The buds tightened under his tender fingers and she quivered.

"Sweet, beautiful Bella," he crooned again with a content sigh, lowering down to kiss her.

Bella was unabashed in her reactions as he licked, sucked and kissed his way down her naked body. She was squirming and going mad from his delectable kisses and nibbles and her skin felt like it was on fire from the heat of the nearby flames and the feeling of his lips on her body as he made his way down to the small patch of dark curls.

When he reached his destination, he looked up at her, his darkened green eyes asking permission as he placed a kiss on her thigh.

"Mmmmmph," Bella moaned impatiently, gyrating her hips.

Edward let out a laugh which Bella adored the sound of. "I did not figure you'd be a particularly patient lover," he teased with another kiss on her opposite thigh.

Any reply Bella would have made was drowned out by her loud gasp as his lips made contact with hers. Bella groaned and gasped in growing franticness as he licked and kissed and sucked on her most sensitive of parts. She felt her cries grow louder as he patiently devoured her. For a brief moment she was concerned that her thighs were clamping down a little too hard on his head, but before she could ponder this, Edward was slithering up towards her once again.

"I have a condom i-"

"Pill," Bella said with a moan, grinding her hips against his engorged member.

Edward seemed as if he was about to protest but Bella let out a loud gasp as she rubbed against him. Any argument died at his lips and he was positioning himself at her entrance. Bella wiggled under him and before he knew it, he was on his back underneath her and she was pushing herself fully onto him, both of them letting out a loud groan at the contact.

Bella began to move, following her most animalistic of instinct as she rode him. His grip on her hips tightened with every movement and he let out a curse at seeing her with her brown hair spilling around her and her body illuminated only by fire. Edward met her strokes and pounded up into her until soon Bella was letting out her loud cries of pleasure which sent Edward into his own.

She collapsed onto him and for a short time, the only sound in the room was there heavy breaths twirling together into one sound as he wrapped his arms around her naked torso, clutching her to him.

"Oh Edward," she mumbled against his chest, hugging him against her as tightly as she could.

Edward, however, was unable to form words as he hugged her against him. He willed his heart to slow down, but it took its time leveling out and soon the room was quiet and it was the fire making the most noise, despite the fact that it had died down due to Edward's neglect.

"Absolutely maddening," Edward mumbled to himself as he lazily grabbed a flannel blanket nearby and threw it over both of them. He tightened his hold on her and smiled to himself as he heard her breathing even out as she drifted into sleep.

The two of them slept together for a few peaceful hours in the north woods, both forgetting about the deadly position they had found themselves in.

* * *

Oh my heart.

A lot of stuff you've all been waiting for went into this chapter. What was your favorite part? Cannot wait to hear your thoughts.

As for next chapter - will Carm do the unprecedented (in my world anyway) and write back to back lemons? Stay tuned. ;)

To all of my American readers, I hope your 4th of July is delightful.


	27. Chapter 26

The next day, or rather later that same day, Edward and Bella both slowly shifted into consciousness around the same time. Bella stretched as she awoke, letting out a little moan which instantly woke the man alongside her.

As Bella yawned in the most adorable of ways, Edward looked around and noticed that the entire cabin was illuminated with sunshine. The sunshine was so bright that Edward knew it had to have been late in the morning. He never slept in that late – he had to attribute it to their early morning activities.

Edward pulled her naked, luscious body against his own and enjoyed the feeling of skin on skin between bodies that were still not quite awake. It had been a long time, and it had never been so intimate. He found himself lightened by the thought as he stretched his neck down and placed a kiss on her temple while she snuggled up against him.

"You're moving in with me," he informed her, nuzzling his nose against her hair.

Bella stiffened. "I'm _what_?"

"You'll be moving in with me when we return to Chicago after our security team has given us the all clear," he repeated, ignoring her incredulous expression.

"We have a security team?" she asked, momentarily distracted.

"We do now. Vetted by me, paid for by Carlisle."

"Well that's a rather convenient arrangement," she said but then narrowed her eyes. "But it doesn't explain why I'm moving in with you, especially if there is a team of highly trained individuals searching my house to see if it's safe."

"Safe at the moment," he disagreed matter of factly. "They are reactive, not proactive."

Bella's lips were quirking into a tiny scowl which he found ridiculously endearing. "I can get a better security system for th-"

"It's not safe for you at your brownstone," he explained, his voice hardening at her perceived resistance.

"Okay," Bella said defiantly, growing frustrated with his directives. "You still don't get to order me to uproot my life."

"Would you prefer I ask?" Edward inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes!"

"Too bad. You're coming to the penthouse."

Bella let her annoyance briefly fade and stretched out lazily, part of her breasts peaking out from under the flannel blanket as she did so. Edward watched the moment and was momentarily distracted. He swallowed thickly before she released her stretch and the temptation was removed.

"That's not how this works, Edward," she replied haughtily. "This relationship is not a dictatorship."

"Did _you_ receive that notice as well?"

Bella threw an elbow nudge in his direction. She did _not_ boss him around.

Not that much, anyway.

"It's a conversation, Edward."

"Are we not currently conversing?"

Bella let out a frustrated noise, completely exasperated by the man curled around her who seemed to be amused by how disgruntled she was.

"I am not talking with you about this until I've had some form of caffeine," she said with no small amount of sass.

"I thought this was supposed to be a conversation."

Bella sniffed. "I'm pausing the conversation."

"And who bestowed that authority on to you to do so?" he challenged. "Sounds strikingly like a dictatorship if you ask me."

"Well it's paused."

And then she burrowed under the flannel blanket, pulling it over her head so she was bathed in warm darkness. It effectively paused the conversation. She heard Edward chuckle on the outside of the blanket. From underneath the blanket, Bella smiled at the noise she didn't hear enough.

Later in the morning, which some would call early afternoon she supposed, Bella had freshly made coffee in her hands and was sitting in one of the porch rocking chairs, looking out at the calm bay of the lake. There were no other homes or cabins in the bay and so the nature was untouched by man and the lake was as clear as glass. As Bella rocked and sipped, she found it hard to consider the fact that it was a Monday in another world in Chicago.

She had her legs tucked underneath her and was wearing nothing other than her underwear and Edward's button up dress shirt. The wooden rocking chair made a gentle creaking noise every time it came down against the wooden deck. The motion was soothing and Bella's mind unknowingly drifted to consider what it would be like if her coffee was replaced with a little babe, one with bright green eyes.

The thought brought a small smile to her face as she leaned back and closed her eyes.

Footsteps on the deck echoed through the woods as Edward joined her on the deck, fresh out of his shower.

"Where is that smile coming from?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, gracefully sitting in the chair next to her.

Bella didn't immediately answer his question as she took another sip of her coffee. "Have you thought about kids once the Brigados are gone?"

Edward simultaneously stilled and paled.

"Do you mean to tell me you're not on the pill as you said?" he said, his voice cold.

Bella rolled her eyes. "No, that's not what I mean to tell you, Edward."

Edward's shoulders relaxed…marginally.

"Do you even like kids?" she pressed curiously.

"I try not to be around them."

"Really?" she asked.

"They're unpredictable, irrational, completely dependent, messy, and loud."

"Well that answers that question."

Edward was silent as he studied Bella's face as she carefully schooled her look of disappointment. "Given my life at the moment, I have not spared the notion of offspring much consideration."

Bella heard the olive branch and offered him a small smile before settling into her chair further.

"How long have you had this place?" she wondered, changing the subject.

Edward slowly rocked in sync with her. "My mother inherited it when her mother died. It was originally her parents' but my grandfather would be turning over in his grave knowing it went to my mother. He died before his wife, and when she died, she rewrote the will for my mother to at least have this as a place to go with Henry and I."

Bella smiled wistfully. "I bet you guys had fun here."

Edward nodded over to the dock that was off to the side of the shore, not in the water for the year because of a lack of use. "I taught Henry how to fish one summer."

"You know how to fish?" she asked teasingly.

"I know how to do most things."

"Your humility is overwhelming," Bella said with an eye roll. "Continue."

"The little shit gave me just as much chin as you do," he continued. "When I didn't immediately catch a fish and he had the audacity to question what I was doing, I shoved him off of the dock. It might have scared away several of the fish, but at least I made my point."

Bella laughed at the story, just picturing a grumpy teenage Edward and his enthusiastic and sassy mini-me trying to catch fish.

"And he did not question you again?" she asked.

Edward smirked and shook his head. "Not about fishing."

"Sounds like a good kid," Bella said with a grin.

Edward wordlessly frowned and then looked out at the lake in front of him for what felt like forever. Bella inwardly cringed in her seat at having evidently said the wrong thing. But finally, Edward spoke without looking at her.

"Fate was not kind to him. He was a good kid and he deserved the world. He didn't deserve the drunken bastard father, a hard life, and a bullet in his head before he fucking graduated high school. He should have been happy and successful," Edward finished bitterly.

"He had you and your mom," Bella said softly.

Edward let out a harsh guffaw. "And we were hardly the world."

"You were enough."

She said it with such firmness that Edward glanced over in her direction for a moment before glancing back at the lake with an angered look on his face. He ran a hand through his damp hair.

Bella dropped her head back against the chair and looked over at him again, her face softer as she decided to change the subject.

"So I'm moving in?" she asked quietly.

An anguished look passed over Edward's before his expression hardened once again. "It's so I can protect you, Bella."

Bella frowned as she thought about her car. They weren't on vacation right now, as much it may seem. They were hidden out in case there was another threat to her life. Carlisle had some men searching her brownstone and office top to bottom to make sure there were no other bombs or threats and Edward was waiting for the all clear.

"Nothing will happen to you," he promised with a fiery determination. "Not if you're with me. I will keep you safe."

Bella nodded. She trusted Edward. Even if she was afraid.

"What will the Brigado's do when they find out you're here?" she wondered quietly.

Edward tensed as he looked straight in front of him. "As far as I know, they have no way of knowing about this property. It's technically owned by the trust my mother inherited so my name is not legally on it."

"But they'll know you were with me. They know about me."

Edward didn't look at her. "It is my thought that this was some type of test. They obviously know about you and if I had to guess, they were curious how I would react to a threat on your life."

Bella shivered, not from cold. "And did you pass?" she dared to ask.

"That's a matter of perspective," Edward alluded darkly.

Bella didn't say a word. She didn't dare to breathe as both of them stopped rocking.

"I'm sure they're thrilled," he said finally with an unreadable tone. "They finally have something over me. Because they can use you to get to me. And your life is in even greater danger than mine."

* * *

Their time in the north woods proved to be an odd mixture of hiding and honeymooning.

Edward was constantly on the phone with someone and usually he was using a different disposable cell phone. Two days into their time at the cottage, Bella was more than used to Edward abruptly excusing himself from whatever they happened to be doing, and disappearing either outside or into a study to speak with Carlisle or God only knew about the new security measures that had to be taken, and taken discretely.

They had been sitting outside, taking in the summer heat and the gentle breeze that was sweeping across their private bay of the lake. Edward had been in the middle of properly thrashing her in a game of cribbage when he stiffened as they heard a phone buzz.

"Who is it now?" Bella wondered, laying down a woeful hand of only four points and moving her peg accordingly.

Edward put down his own hand while he picked up the phone. Bella scowled at his twelve points as he moved his peg. "Hanson Law," he answered absentmindedly. "It should not take long."

Bella watched him as he stood up from the old picnic table and raised the phone to his ear, striding across the yard back to the cottage.

As Bella watched him depart, she grabbed the cards and began to shuffle them. As she bridged the cards back and forth, she recalled what she knew about Hanson Law. It was a prominent law firm in Chicago and often showed up on law clerk's resumes when they applied for a position with Cullen Consulting. They were a reputable firm with a specialty in last will and testament planning.

Bella's hands froze and the bridge of cards messily collapsed.

"Oh," she breathed aloud as her stomach knotted.

There were only a few reasons Edward would be speaking to them.

Edward had never insisted on immunity, she suddenly realized.

At the time, Bella had been too furious at Chris Wilder to consider that it had been _Edward_ who had accepted the terms.

It was Edward who had not planned for a life if/when the Brigados were gone.

He didn't expect to live long enough to need immunity.

He was presently getting his affairs in order.

" _I'll get you out of this, Swan,"_ he had whispered.

You – not us.

He would keep her safe, and he had promised that.

He had never said anything about himself.

By the time Edward returned back outside, Bella was no longer seated at the picnic table. Instead, she was standing with her back to him, facing the water with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Edward glanced at the table and saw the mess of cards, carelessly discarded and his brow furrowed.

One wasn't a spy without learning to assess situations with immediacy.

And as he saw Bella's face, he saw her fury.

His steps slowed as he cautiously approached her until finally he was standing next to her, shoulder to shoulder. Well, shoulder to head, considering his height and her lack of it. He stared out at the water in company with her, wary on how to proceed.

"You don't expect to survive."

The words fell between them heavily.

Edward exhaled and lifted a hand to run through his hair.

So that's what it was about.

"Swa-"

"Don't lie to me, Edward."

Edward stopped and looked over at her. She looked madder than he had ever seen and her tightly wound body was trembling.

"No. I do not."

Bella's lips tightened angrily and she shook her head in the tiniest of movements, her body wound so tight, it was the freest movement she could manage.

Edward put a hand on her arm. "Swan, listen-"

"No!" she exclaimed, jerking away from his touch and tearing her gaze away from the water and directing her fury entirely at him. "No! I will not listen!"

Edward swallowed.

He had never heard her yell like this.

The woman was a spitfire, he had never doubted that. But she had always kept her fire well controlled, using wit and her sharp tongue rather than a raised voice.

This was entirely new.

"You're prepared to die like a fucking pig in a slaughter house!" she accused him furiously, her voice raised to a shout.

Edward was silent.

"How could you?" she cried. "How could you have so little care for your own life? How could you be so prepared to accept a violent death as your only end? How could you possibly be so prepared to forfeit the rest of your years and for what? For what?!"

"For what?" he asked, his voice hardening.

"For what? Carlisle Cullen? For corporate fucking America?"

"Fuck Carlisle Cullen!" he seethed, feeling his temper rising. "Swan if you had any idea the things I've seen and the things these men are capable of, you would have a hell of a lot less nerve to accuse me of uselessly throwing away my life. They just blew up your fucking car. Do you think you are the first? Do you think you are the last? Do you have any idea how many are being kept as prisoners and slaves by these bastards?"

"No, God damnit, I don't!" she yelled. "You don't fucking tell me anything!"

"You don't want to know!" he yelled back, his temper snaping. "It's easy for you to insist on being in my life when you have no fucking clue how much danger you are in! Swan, I've tried and tried to tell you how fucked they are, and you've insisted you don't care!"

"I don't!" she shouted, seething. "I've found you battered, bloodied and bruised enough times to have a pretty good idea. I've stitched up your wounds and tended to your lashes and sat with you after they injected God knows what into your system. I have a pretty fucking good idea, Edward Masen! And despite all of that shit, and all of the shit that is to come, and the fact that I need to go buy a new fucking car because the mafia just blew mine up, I don't care!"

"For as smart as you are, Swan, you sure can choose to present yourself as woefully unintelligent!"

Bella couldn't help herself. She put her hands out in front of her and angrily shoved his chest back. She had never been a violent person and both of them knew it. It caught him off guard and he was pushed a few feet back as she furiously advanced on him.

"I've seen all of that and I know all of that and I've still chosen to be with you, Edward Masen. Quite frankly, I don't even think I've had any fucking choice in the matter. I've loved you, Edward - if my brain would ever be on the same page as my heart, maybe I wouldn't but I have and I do. I love you so fucking much that it takes my breath away, Edward, and I have never been able to help it!"

"I never told you to love me! I told you not to!"

Bella barked out a hysterical laugh. "Didn't you hear me? Loving you is as much a part of my identity is the fact that I am a brown haired woman. It's apart of my life and it's a part of my soul and it's who I am! I can't choose not to!"

Edward glared. "I told you, Swan, time and time again. People who love me end up dead and now you know the full extent of that. I told you and you were too completely and utterly dense to understand that!"

She shook her head back and forth, still shaking. "I do understand that, God damnit. How could you not think that? My car exploded. I could have been instantly killed. I understand it, Edward Masen!" she yelled.

Edward opened his mouth but she kept shouting.

"I understand that and I accept it! I accept that me loving you and being with you is dangerous and not in my best interest and will quite possibly lead to my untimely demise. But I will not leave this world without putting up the fight of my life! I will go to Hell and beyond for you, you bastard! I love you and I will be with you and I will accept all of that danger and prepare to fight till my last breath to live another day with you!"

At this Bella seemed to lose all of her energy. She sank down to the grass as the anger suddenly left her, and it had been the very thing propping her up.

She buried her face in her hands. "I've accepted that all – for what? For you to die? For you to leave me alone in this life?" she asked, looking up at him.

Edward felt his own anger vanish. He lowered himself onto the ground in front of her.

Bella was still trembling, and her eyes were watering with tears, paining him more than anything the Brigados could ever do to him.

"Swan," he murmured, pulling her small frame into him.

"Am I not enough of a reason to live?"

Edward clutched her to his chest, to his aching heart, holding her tightly as he stroked her hair. After a few moments, he pulled back and tilted her delicate chin gently up so that he was staring directly into her eyes as his thumb repetitively stroked her cheek.

"Swan, you are all the reason a man could ever need."

Edward leaned over and captured her lips with his, only gentle for the briefest of moments before she deepened the kiss, aggressive in her attempts to consume and possess him. The kiss was filled with the remnants of their anger, and Bella kissed him as if she was trying to inject her light into him while simultaneously snatch and own his soul.

It was not gentle.

It was not tender like it had been the first couple of times.

It was not tentative.

There was no hesitation as Edward met her fury and roughly gripped her hips, jostling them both until Bella was firmly pressed between the grass and Edward's hard body.

It was a frenzy of pushing and pulling as their lips connected with whatever they could find. It was anger and it was love. Bella was hardly even aware of the fact that she was biting into his shoulder until he let out a growl and shoved her sundress up past her waist, not bothering to gently take it off. Bella grabbed at his waistline, lacking tenderness as she frantically unbuckled his belt and undid his pants.

Bella scratched at him and he gripped her hard enough that there would surely be bruises left in his wake. She ground her throbbing core against him, wrapping her legs around his body and desperately rubbing against him. Edward tore his lips away from her left breast where he had been abusing her swollen nipple with his teeth and tongue. His hands replaced his lips, harshly fondling her breast and tugging at her nipple as his mouth traveled back up to her lips, nipping at her neck along the way.

Edward thrust into her unceremoniously and Bella let out a yelp as he filled her. He did not wait for her to get accustomed to his intrusion and instead pounded into her, causing a blur of pain and pleasure. It was the most animalistic experience of her life as she let out growls and shouts in a way that she never before had, scratching, tearing and biting at his body as he slammed her repeatedly into the grass.

As her pleasure rose and tightened, she gripped his neck tightly, letting her nails dig into the warm skin and causing him to throw his head back. She gripped him tighter and forced him to meet her eyes in the throes of their fucking.

"Promise me."

Edward was intent on losing himself in the small woman under him, attempting to punish and love her just as she was attempting to possess him. As he continued to pound into her, unable to stop, he realized what she was demanding from him.

He had already signed two deals with the Devil.

Surely he could muster one last one vow.

Bella let out a sharp cry of pleasure, clutching his neck so tightly that her nails pierced his skin and drew blood. As she was overcome with the most intense pleasure of her life, a pleasure she was convinced would shatter and kill her, she heard Edward above the chaos.

"I swear to the earth below us," he grunted as he thrust harshly one last time, "And the sky above us, and this fire between us that I will live for you Swan."

* * *

Sometimes as a writer, certain segments just write themselves, and your fingers move across the keyboard almost unbeknownst to you. This was the 2nd half of the chapter.

Do you guys like these two as much as I love them? Hope it's not just me.

You got your back to back lemons. But it's back to the real world for these two, and we haven't heard from the Brigados in a while. I'm sure they're curious what our spy has been up to...


	28. Chapter 27

"Swan, you said nothing about that beast."

"He's not a beast and you didn't ask."

"Absolutely not. He can't be here. There's a strict no pet policy."

"There is not."

"There is now."

"He's staying, Edward. He's part of my family."

"I have an allergy and it's serious."

"Oh really?"

"No. I just made that up."

"I know."

Edward's lips curled back into a sneer as he looked at the disgusting ball of fur in Bella's arms. Bella was just rolling her eyes as she continuously pet her cat, Harold. The cat actually did seem to be glaring at Edward and Bella wasn't sure he wouldn't go after him with a hiss and a snap.

They were standing in the doorway of Edward's penthouse. All of the rest of Bella's essentials had been moved into Edward's space and the cat was the last thing to make the trip over. Carlisle had just dropped him off and gone back down to the car to grab a box of Bella's books.

Over the three days they were gone, Carlisle's apparent security team had scourged Bella's house to make sure there were no other safety threats detected. To Bella's knowledge, they hadn't found anything, but Edward insisted it was not a safe place for her to live. Those same people had gathered a collection of her essentials, including clothes, toiletries and other important artifacts, and packed them up and delivered them to Carlisle so she would not have to set foot in the brownstone.

"Swan…" Edward said warningly, still glaring at the cat in front of him with utter dislike.

"He's staying, Edward," Bella said firmly, ignoring his icy stare and tantrum. It wasn't that hard to do and she briefly considered the fact that almost half of her coworkers would benefit from learning to do the same thing.

"If he pisses anywhere other than his litterbox, I'm shooting him."

"Charming," Bella deadpanned.

Harold, not taking his eyes off of Edward, nuzzled against Bella and let out a loud purr from her strokes. Edward snarled at the cat but didn't say anything when Bella raised an eyebrow at him.

"I mean it, I'll shoot it."

Bella rolled her eyes and then lowered her feline friend to the ground. Harold hesitantly took a few steps in the environment so much different than what he was used to. After a couple of cautious steps around Bella's feet, he strutted away, going to check out the rest of the space like he owned the place.

"I hate him."

"Edward."

The man glared at the hallway that the cat had just disappeared into.

Bella rolled her eyes one last time before moving to stand next to him. "We can go back to the brownstone, if you want."

Edward's arm shot out to wrap around her waist and pull her gently into his side. "Not a chance," he muttered firmly, placing a light kiss on top of her head.

"I'm going to have Carlisle take me to the car dealership tomorrow before I had back."

Edward's whole body tensed and he didn't move for a second. "No way in hell," he finally muttered again, this time he was even firmer.

"I need a car," Bella said, thinking about her last one. She felt a sharp pain in her palm where she had cut herself from the explosion. It was Friday and they had left Edward's cabin that morning after four nights there and Bella already felt the weight of Chicago pressing down on her once again.

"I have cars," Edward dismissed.

Bella pulled away from him long enough to level him with an incredulous stare. "I get to drive the Aston Martin?"

"No. I'll drive the Aston Martin, but I will drive you in it."

"I don't get a car now?" she asked, a hint of frustration in her voice. This was quickly becoming the biggest point of contention in their relationship and both of them could recognize that.

Edward shook his head as his face hardened. "It's not safe."

"Says who?" she demanded.

"Swan, your last car fucking blew up and you were supposed to be in it," he reminded her harshly.

Bella made a frustrated growl. "And your car has just as much of a chance to be tampered with as anyone I drive and I'm just as good of a driver as you."

Edward arched an eyebrow.

"I am," she repeated, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Fine. Let's compare insurance records and see."

"Fine," she agreed.

Now it was Edward who growled, apparently not expecting her to agree. "Swan, I don't have time for this. My cars are kept under constant surveillance here at the complex and they are stocked with cash, guns and other papers in the event of a quick getaway."

Bella fell silent, momentarily stunned.

Edward's harsh face softened just the slightest. "Bella, I promise you it's not my intent to take away your freedoms. I have utmost respect for your ability to handle yourself in most matters and I hope you know I am not the type of man to ever consider attempting to limit your independence, for fear of certain death."

Bella slowly released the breath she had been holding gave him a subdued half smile.

"But please do not fight me on this. Not right now. I've failed at protecting those closest to me in the past and I will not fail with you."

As he spoke, she felt the weight of his past pressing down on both of them, combining with the present weight he carried and threatening to crush them both. She finally sighed and then nodded.

"Okay," she whispered before wrapping her arms around his torso.

After a moment, Edward's body softened and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closely against him. He was always so cautious to show any type of affection and Bella felt herself melt in his gentle arms.

Their brief, tender moment was all too soon interrupted by a knock on the door. Edward immediately tensed and his hand dropped away from her to go to where his gun was resting in his belt behind him. Bella rolled her eyes and dropped her arms. "It's just Carlisle with Harold's litter box."

Edward didn't move.

"Don't shoot my cat, Edward, I swear to God."

Bella walked over to what was apparently now her front door. She pulled open the heavy door to reveal Carlisle, CEO of the year, hero of corporate America, titan of the industry, struggling with Harold's litter box, litter bag, and bag of cat food. Bella chuckled and reached forward to take the food out of his hands.

"He'll be needing that," Carlisle said as he released it to Bella.

"No, he won't be…" Edward muttered to himself.

Bella glared.

He was _not_ killing her cat.

"I think that should be everything," Carlisle said after he said the other two things down on the ground. "If we missed anything, call me, Bella. I don't want you going back there."

"Does everyone know I'm moved out of there?" she wondered anxiously. "I don't want anyone else going there if there's danger."

Carlisle nodded. "They know you're moving in with Edward, but they have a lot of questions, Bella. Emmett especially."

Bella opened her mouth and prepared to verbally annihilate the man who identified as her brother of sorts but Carlisle held his hand up and stopped her. "It's not just him. Rosalie and Alice are spun up about it too and Jasper knows there's something going on and he isn't dropping it either."

At his words, Bella glanced over at Edward with uncertainty. Edward and Carlisle had locked eyes and a silent conversation passed between them.

"Do you trust him?" Edward finally drawled, stoic face in place.

"I do," Carlisle answered unequivocally. "Do you?"

Edward ran a hand through his hair and rested his hip against the island. He then crossed his arms over his chest and looked both thoughtful and agitated.

"Bella?" Edward prompted. "What do you think?"

She figured given Emmett and Edward's relationship, they weren't referring to the former.

"I trust Jasper with my life," she said without a thought. If any of the four of her friends was to be told, she would pick Jasper every time, even if she was closer with her female friends.

"The only people that know about the precarious arrangement with the Brigados are in this room," Edward reminded them both with narrowed eyes. "The more people that know this secret, the more dangerous it becomes. But still, he could be an asset in protecting Bella."

"I would prefer we tell him before he pokes around in things he shouldn't and figures it out on his own," Bella reasoned.

"I don't believe anyone would have the audacity to do that," Edward commented wryly, leveling Bella with a pointed stare.

Carlisle clapped his hands together, ignoring the raised eyebrow Bella gave Edward.. "Alright, so Jasper will need to be briefed at-"

He was cut off by the sound of a cell phone beginning to ring. Edward tensed as he pulled a phone out of his pocket and Bella instantly grew nervous as he answered the phone.

"Masen."

Bella held her breath as she watched him and saw a hardness spread across his face.

"Yes. Yes, sir. I'll be there. Of course."

Edward ended the phone call and his whole body had transformed in those few sentences. He was stiff as a board and his face was cold and emotionless. Bella shivered at the sight of him, the man she loved.

Edward nodded briefly at Bella before he began to move towards the front door.

"Stay with her, Carlisle."

* * *

Edward cursed as he stormed into the complex's garage. The Brigados needed him available immediately and for the first time of his tenure as spy, he was so fucking uncertain of what to expect.

He knew it had been them who put a fucking bomb in Bella's car. That didn't just happen to anyone. It had been a targeted attack on her, which meant they knew about her.

Which could be deadly.

Edward threw open the door to his Ferrari and slid into it, closing the door with a slam. He felt under his seat to make sure his Eagle was securely strapped there, and when he felt the cool metal of the gun, he threw the car in reverse and peeled out of the parking garage, his body vibrating with anger.

If he had to guess, he didn't think the Brigados had actually been trying to kill her. Killing her so quickly would vanish any use they had for her.

He knew how they operated.

They had tabs on the loved ones of every employee, thug, cop, crook, and criminal under their control. They rarely harmed any of them, they relied on the knowledge that they could harm them to ensure complacency within their ranks. And if someone ever stepped out of line, they could harm them more by hurting someone they cared about than hurting the thugs themselves.

Edward would have to tread far more carefully than ever.

And if after today, if needed, they would run.

He would take Bella and get the hell out of the country. He had passports under aliases for both of them and millions of dollars spread out in accounts throughout the world. He had property in Scotland, Thailand, Switzerland, and South Africa if need be. He would keep her safe, and if he detected that the Brigado's would act, he would get her out before they could harm her.

It did not take Edward long to weave through the afternoon Chicago traffic and make his way to the underground parking garage that led to Bite. The restaurant was owned and operated by Luca and had actually been pretty successful and received many favorable reviews from food critics. However, several stories underground was a favorite bunker of the Brigados. It had been around since the 60's and was the reason the Brigado's had bought the property under the guise of breaking into the food industry.

Edward parked his car and grabbed his Eagle. He exited the car and ignored the DO NOT ENTER signs and opened up a rusted over door. Past the heavy rusted door was a small hallway which had a shiny silver box on the wall. Edward expertly entered in a 10-digit code and then opened his eye so the scanner could scan his eye. After the scan, a noise clicked and then Edward opened the door and began to descend three flights of dark stairs.

The smell of feces immediately assaulted Edward's nostrils and he fought to keep his face from showing any disgust as he entered the dungeon like area.

Roman, Giovanni and Luca were scattered around the dimly lit concrete bunker. Luca had his cell phone to his ear and looked angrier than Edward had ever seen; he didn't even spare the latter a glance. Roman was talking to two men in suits who Edward did not recognize but could immediately see that they were no rookies in the game. Giovanni was over on the farthest wall standing next to what appeared to be two prisoners.

There were two men chained to the wall. A cuff was on each of their ankles and each of their wrists, forcing them into a standing spread eagle position with what looked like barely any weight on their legs. Both of them had duct tape over their mouths and soiled clothes. Edward raised an eyebrow when he saw the piss stains on each of their slacks. The two men had unruly hair and haggard appearances, leaving Edward to conclude that they had been down here for more than just a few hours.

Edward squared his feet and clasped his hands loosely together behind his back as he took in the scene and waited for instructions, an expressionless mask settling over his face. His mind was racing, calculating their next possible moves and attempting to stay ahead of each of the possibilities.

"Masen," Roman snapped with a nod.

Edward smoothly walked over to the patriarch and before he was within arms length, a strong force shoved him to the ground.

"You'll get on your fucking knees before him," one of the men in suits spat, pressing down on Edward's shoulder seconds after his knees had slammed onto the concrete.

Edward didn't dare move – his face remained unreadable.

"Hello, Edward," Roman greeted coldly.

"Sir," he acknowledged, not raising his eyes from the ground.

Roman flicked a hand in the the man's direction and his hand was removed from Edward's shoulder. "Rise," he commanded.

Edward gracefully rose to his feet, ignoring the sharp pain he felt in each of his knees as he did so. The last time he had been forced on his knees in front of Brigado was before Giovanni beat him with a fucking cane and he fought down a shudder at the ghost feeling of the cane swung to break ribs.

Roman regarded Edward coolly and the latter could immediately see that the man in front of him was livid. Edward maintained a blank expression under the glare.

"Giovanni," Roman barked. "Come."

The eldest of Roman's sons heard his name and turned, slowly setting down the knife he had in his hands. Edward had seen him carve into men with the instrument before, an artist with a blank canvas of human flesh to be painted red.

Upon seeing Edward, a wicked grin spread across his face. He began sauntering over in their direction. Luca continued to pace and speak rapid Italian on the phone behind them.

"You see those men over there, Masen?" Roman asked, nodding at the two men who seemed to be in and out of consciousness chained against the wall.

Edward nodded.

"Recognize them?" he prompted coolly.

"Members of your security team, sir," Edward said. He had last seen them at one of their live slave auctions at Casa de Padre's.

"Not anymore," Giovanni corrected darkly.

Edward did not reply.

"Care to guess why we have been so graciously hosting them here for the past two weeks?" Roman asked.

"I do not know, sir. Edward guessed calmly.

Giovanni made an annoyed noise at the back of his throat as he rolled his eyes in dislike.

"Disloyalty. The Fed has been interfering with my operations," Roman informed him. "Within this past three weeks, they've raided the homes of four of our most profitable clients and taken the merchandise into federal custody. Six women and two men who have a combined net worth of over thirty million dollars. All eight of them were from our last auction."

Edward had been at that auction.

Edward had given his description of the men who had bought the slaves to Carlisle to give to the police.

Roman continued. "Phone calls have been pouring in from some of my dearest friends, threatening to return their own merchandise and demanding a full refund. They believe I have a mole within my unit and they do not trust our security of their information. They have all threatened to never buy from us again."

Edward was silent as he listened.

"And what's more, your firm has alerted the Feds to my largest gun shipment of the year. It was supposed to be coming in through the Great Lakes and they got wind of it and now the entire shipment has been confiscated and their federal investigations which will undoubtedly be a headache for me legally, not to mention the guns I will never receive as a result of this," he hissed.

"And in California, your fucking firm has repeatedly tipped off the police department in that area, and they are not as easily bought as the ones in Chicago. Their constant interference has made it impossible to get any profitable business done in the area and because of Cullen Consulting, I'll have to pull back from the west coast."

Roman's expression hardened as he regarded Edward furiously.

"I am not a patient man, Edward. Not only am I not patient, I do not take lightly to my fortunes being tampered with and with each passing hour I am losing millions of dollars. So in short, my young friend, I am incredibly angry. I have grown tired of this interference by Cullen Consulting Incorporated. I have allowed it for these past couple of years because of the information you have been able to provide to keep our units one step ahead of the Feds but they have now grown from a mild annoyance to a financial disaster for me."

While Edward's heart threatened to beat faster, he didn't show any inch of discomfort under the sharp scrutiny of the four men all staring at him.

"Care to share any insight?" Roman asked Edward with a raised eyebrow.

"Sir, the investigations regarding your family are kept completely classified from the rest of the department. Despite all of my best efforts, I have had little success in hacking the files and learning any specific information."

Giovanni snarled, "Likel-"

"Regardless," Roman snapped, cutting off his son. "I am no longer amused by this Fortune 500 company interfering with my business and I plan to put an end to this experiment of Carlisle Cullen's once and for all."

Roman than nodded at the two men standing on either side of Edward. "I have hired my own consultants of sorts. These men specialize in the exact operations I will be needing assistance with going forward, and they're going to changing things around here…preventing this organization from going too…lax."

"I understand, sir," Edward agreed.

"I expect you to work harder at getting into those files. I expect you to get information from your coworkers using whatever means necessary. I need to know exactly what information they have on my family and I need to know it immediately; I do not have much time nor do I have patience for a delay, do I make myself clear?" Roman asked with a deadly tone of voice.

"Yes, sir."

Roman raised an eyebrow at Edward and then nodded over at Giovanni. A sick smile spread across Giovanni's face as he reached into his suit and pulled out a manila envelope. Edward watched blankly as he then pulled out pictures from the envelope and handed them over to Edward.

Wordlessly, Edward took the pictures and immediately felt his stomach twist.

The picture on top was a picture of him and Bella walking into the shooting range together.

The next picture was a picture of Bella getting her mail in front of her house.

The picture after that was of Bella and Edward entering the hospital together after their flight from Barcelona.

The last picture did not have Bella in it, but Edward recognized it as a photo of her bedroom.

They had been in her house.

Of course they had. He had known it.

But to see the proof and the clear invasion in front of him was different than knowing it.

Edward looked up from the photos to see Giovanni smirking at him and Roman lighting a cigar.

"Why didn't you tell us, Masen?" Giovanni asked with a sick grin. "We're hurt!"

Edward raised his eyebrow. "I couldn't possibly begin to guess what you mean."

"You've got yourself a bitch," Giovanni crooned. "A hot one too."

Edward had prepared for this.

He snorted. "She's a bitch but she's not mine," he dismissed, uninterested.

Roman raised an eyebrow. "Do explain."

"She's one of Carlisle's pets," Edward explained with disdain. "Him and his wife seemed to regret having not reproduced and have taken some perverse pleasure in _adopting_ young and mediocre employees."

"And why have you been spending time with her?" he asked coldly.

"To get closer to Carlisle," Edward replied with bored confidence. "The two of them have a bond of sorts and if I can get her to trust me…well then the rest just falls into place, now doesn't it?"

Giovanni looked at him sharply. "And here we thought you'd grown quite…close."

Edward smirked. "Please Giovanni, if a woman has a proclivity for spending time in the bedrom, who am I to deny her of that nature?"

There was general male laughter from Roman and the man to Edward's left.

"Certainly no one can fault you for this, Edward," Roman chuckled, having softened upon hearing his explanation. "She is certainly an exquisite creature. I can think of a few buyers who would pay a pretty penny for such an American born beauty."

Roman stared at him for a moment before his lips curled up.

"I am pleased, Masen."

Edward's stomach clenched and every fiber of his being screamed at him to fight. He took any threat to her as if it was a threat to him – because it was.

She was his heart.

Without her, he was nothing.

Instead of letting any of that come out, he only smirked. "It is a double edge sword in that it is unfortunate that she presently is so close with Cullen and his infinite resources."

It was the only way he could think to protect her in that instant – by reminding them that she had people that would care if she disappeared, people in high places.

Roman stared for a moment, his eyes flattening and his tone hardening. "Unfortunate indeed."

There was silence in the room save Luca continuing to hiss in Italian.

"That is all, Masen. You are dismissed," Roman said after blowing a puff of cigar smoke.

Edward nodded and turned on his heel to leave.

"Don't get too used to that bitch warming you bed, Masen," Giovanni warned before he moved.

"Of course not," Edward dismissed.

Roman nodded at him and Edward left the dungeon without another word, heading towards the stairs and appearing to ascend them at his leisure.

Edward got into his car with a pounding heart and wasted no time in peeling out of the parking garage and racing back towards his apartment complex. He wanted to call Bella or Carlisle and make sure she was safe. He knew she almost certainly was, but his mind was trapped with an almost unfathomable worry as he sped through the city. He didn't know if the Brigado's had tapped his phone and he couldn't be seen to care about her, not if he wanted them to buy his story.

He wanted to throw up.

His lunch was threatening to make its way up his throat as he though about what they had said about her. The thought of Bella in the position of those girls he had seen at the beginning of the summer made him tighten his grip on the steering wheel to the point where he was white knuckled and certain he would crush through it.

When he parked the car within his complex he practically ran to the elevator that would go to the penthouse where Bella would be waiting. His heart was pounding as the elevator slowly meandered up to the top floor of the complex and took its time opening the massive doors to let him out. He unlocked the door and stormed in.

Carlisle and Bella were both standing near the kitchen island where he left them.

They were in mid conversation when he burst into the room, the words dying on their lips upon seeing him.

Bella's face was a mixture of relief and concern at seeing his on expression.

Carlisle coughed and then excused himself to the restroom with a mumble and was gone down the hallway in an instant.

Edward didn't say a word as he went to her.

She looked up at him with her wide, beautiful, brown eyes and Edward's heart clenched.

He took her into his arms without another word, pulling her small, warm body against his chest and holding her as tightly as he dared. Bella stiffened, not used to such displays of intimacy, but then immediately melted against him and wrapped her arms around his torso.

He held her until his heartbeat slowed down. His breathing began to even out, even as he was failing in his attempt to absorb her into his own body and join them together as one, so he would never have to be parted with her.

* * *

So the Brigados know about Bella...somewhat anyway. We'll see how far Edward's words go in protecting her.

Up next: this little underground army is about to get a little bit bigger.

All the love and see you soon.


	29. Chapter 28

As soon as Bella woke up the next day, she knew it was going to be a character building day.

It was her first time waking up in Edward's bed, and he was already out of bed before she blinked to consciousness. The smell of coffee tickled her nostrils and she felt the air that had been warmed ever so slightly by excess shower steam. It was not a bad thing to wake up and know her favorite person was close by; in fact, despite everything that had led to this, she was content to be in Edward's apartment.

That, however, did not change the fact that she woke with a feeling of dread that the day ahead of her would not go smoothly.

Edward was already dressed in his suit for the day and was reading the newspaper as he sipped at his black coffee. Before they had gone to sleep, they had compared times that they usually get to the office and Bella was startled that Edward preferred to be at work at 6:00am, whereas she got in around 8:00. They had compromised on 7:00 but Bella found herself hustling through her routine to try and not aggravate the man who was already not used to compromising.

Their drive to the office was quiet. Edward seemed to be deep in thought and Bella was still waking up as she drank her own coffee. As he drove, the events a few days prior ran through her mind.

 _With a shuddering breath, Edward slowly released her. He placed a chaste kiss on top of her head and rested his face in her hair for a moment._

 _"Edward, what happened?" she breathed quietly, her voice full of uncharacteristic fear._

 _With a weary feeling seeping across his body, he slowly released her from his grasp and moved to lean on the island. Bella watched him intently, silently assessing all of his body and his movements to see if he was hurt or not. She felt a little bit of her worry slip away that he seemed to physically be alright._

 _Edward debated internally how much to tell her before saying, "The Brigados have grown tired of Cullen Consulting's interventions."_

 _As if he heard his name, Carlisle reappeared in the space. He was gazing somberly at Edward, crossing his arms loosely across his chest. The two looked at each other and Bella watched as Edward gave Carlisle a slight head shake._

 _"Are they planning to act?" Carlisle asked._

 _Edward's lips set into a hard line. "I believe so."_

 _Bella frowned. "The mafia is tired of us getting in their business and now they're going to act, possibly in a quite mafia way, so that we stop?"_

 _The silence that met her response was enough to answer the question._

 _"We have to shut down the ISC."_

 _Carlisle and Edward did not look thrilled at what she thought was the most obvious answer to the problem._

 _"Bella…if we shut it down, they win. Now's not the time to back down, not when they continue to get more dangerous by the day," Carlisle said firmly._

 _"It would not help much," Edward added. "The damage has already been done and they're not likely to be mollified."_

 _"We are not equipped for this," she asserted firmly._

 _"She's right," Carlisle said to Edward. "We're going to need to brief more people on this. This has the potential to get even more dangerous."_

 _Bella held her tongue and tried to forget about the fact that she had been insisting for years that the ISC division had been a bad idea. Now, their entire company was in jeopardy and lives were at stake because they were dealing with the FBI's most wanted._

 _"We need help."_

Edward dropped Bella off at the front door and then went to go park so as not to draw attention to them walking into the office together.

It was an interesting situation they had found themselves in, if for no other reason than the fact that Bella was in HR and Edward was an employee of the firm and it was a relatively frowned upon relationship, though not explicitly banned. Additionally, they didn't want to attract any attention because Edward did not trust anyone; he found it entirely possible that the Brigado's had dozens of people in their pockets, waiting to report to the mobsters on his level of fondness for her. Despite the need for distance, he also didn't want to be very far from her as a safety precaution.

It was all a bit of a mess, but she supposed she never really did have a problem getting dirty.

She went through the new security procedures, handing over her badge and credentials and stepping through the state of the art metal detector in the lobby of the building. Several other employees were also going through the process and she heard their grumblings and suspicions about the new measures, but kept her mouth shut.

By the time she got up to her office, she was already wary. When she saw Rosalie standing with her arms crossed over her chest and glaring into Bella's office, she internally sighed.

"What's going on?" Bella asked as she reached her.

Rose nodded over to the three men all around Bella's office. "They're going through your shit," she snapped.

"Why?" Bella asked.

Rosalie huffed, "The Board is concerned about corporate espionage and apparently has found it prudent that they sweep all of the partners' offices for bugs."

Corporate espionage.

Right.

Well, Carlisle did have to think of something.

It was close enough.

"Well, I suppose it's not a bad idea. The execs are all starting their work on drafting the company's strategic five-year plan," Bella commented, watching as one man rummaged through her desk drawers.

Rosalie glared at the men and didn't say anything.

Bella almost grinned to herself. Rosalie was a hardass and she was aggressive and underneath any negative perceptions of those traits, she was so fiercely loyal to Bella.

The men moved on to the next office a few minutes later with nothing but a nod to the two women. Bella went into her office and got settled in as did Rose at her desk after one last glare at the men as they moved in the direction of Alice and Edward's offices. Bella felt slightly more at ease after the sweep knowing that the Brigado's had not planted anything within her office.

Which was ideal, because Jasper came storming in two hours later.

"Bella, can I talk to you?" he asked, shutting the door abruptly behind him.

She looked up from her computer and saw every emotion displayed plainly on his face.

"You know."

Jasper's expression did not change, he just stared at her, waiting.

"Carlisle briefed you?" she asked.

"He did."

The words came out with a sting.

Bella leaned back in her chair and met his hard stare. She instead waited just as he did.

Finally, Jasper broke the stare and collapsed in the chair in front of her desk. He propped his arm on the arm rest and ran his hand tiredly over his face. "Bells, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?

Bella leveled him with a hard stare. "Since I'm sure Carlisle answered that question, what do you really want to know?"

"Do you understand how dangerous this is?" he asked solemnly. "Have you considered all of the repercussions of you getting involved with a double agent for the god damn mafia, Bella?"

"Did Carlisle mention the fact that this was all his idea and he was the one who put Edward in this position in the first place?"

Jasper nodded. "He did."

The two of them shared a look.

"Apparently Carlisle's idea of corporate social responsibility translates to cleaning up the streets of Chicago," Jasper sighed, calming down. "He seems to think that since we have the technology and resources-"

"-it's our duty to do something in stopping domestic terrorism," Bella finished.

"Well," he sighed, "maybe it is," Jasper said thoughtfully, propping his chin in his fingers.

Bella let out a sigh of her own. "Whether it should be our duty or not, the fact of the matter is that this is the war we're fighting now."

Jasper's face reflected every emotion Bella felt when she first learned about Carlisle's arrangement. He was angered, wary, anxious, and had a lot of determination in his eyes.

"Is he worth it?"

"Yes."

"Do you love him?"

"Yes."

The word slipped out of Bella's mouth without hesitation.

Jasper nodded.

"Then I'm in."

~O~

The second person who came storming into her office was Seth Clearwater from the IT department. Rosalie stalled him for a second but even she was powerless against the passionate young man.

"Seth, what's up?" she asked as soon as he marched in.

"What the hell did I do wrong?" he demanded to know, barely getting the door shut.

"What are you talking about?" Bella asked. She racked her brains for an HR decision that had been made that would have affected Seth in any way and she could not come up with anything.

"I just got out of a meeting with my manager!" he exclaimed. "And I've been temporarily transferred to the Investigations and Specialized Crime division."

Carlisle had been busy this morning.

"Seth, that wasn't my call," Bella said with a raised eyebrow.

"Bullshit," he called. "Nothing in this firm happens without your knowledge, Bella."

She held up her hands. "I was not the one responsible for the transfer. Is there any reason you're upset about it? It does seem right up your ally."

"Because I'm directly reporting to Edward God damn Masen!" Seth exclaimed angrily. "That's the reason I'm upset!"

"It's a temporary transfer, Seth," she reminded him. "You were likely selected because you are the most competent of your peers."

"I can't work for him," Seth shook his head firmly. "He's an ass. He makes people cry, Bella."

"I'll buy you some tissues."

Seth narrowed his eyes.

"The margins in that division are ridiculous," she reminded him. "And you'd actually be interested to learn that almost every employee that works directly under Masen respects him as a fair and competent leader."

"Probably because they're worried they'll get fired if they write anything else…" he muttered under his breath.

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Would you like to file a formal complaint?" she intoned.

Seth huffed. "I don't have any grounds for that."

Of course she knew that.

"So why don't you want to work for him?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she waited.

"He's a dick, Bella."

"Seth, do you know what Masen's been working on these past few months?"

He rolled his eyes petulantly. "Some crime."

"It's not just some crime, Seth. He's working with the Chicago police department and the feds to get a case going against the Brigados and the Marinos."

"The businessmen?" Seth asked skeptically.

"They're only legal businessmen on paper. They run a bicoastal drug dealing operation, supply guns and weapons in countries of Africa to warzones in the Middle East and in all major cities in the United States. They have a global human trafficking ring and kidnap men, women and children and sell them into forced prostitution and slavery. They are almost single handedly responsible for Chicago's murder rate being at an all time high and they are not showing a single sign of stopping. Actually, they're growing larger and they have half of the city's officials in their pockets. We need to do something about it, and that's what Edward's trying to do."

Seth looked at her and blinked.

And then blinked again.

"So he might not be the coziest person to have as a manager, but in his line of work, he can't afford to be. Not when he's trying to save people's lives, Seth."

Bella realized with a wince that Edward would almost certainly scold her for so publically defending his honor, but then she realized she didn't care. He deserved her defense and so much more.

"Are you in, or would you like to request that transfer?"

Seth looked at her with a whole new sense of determination.

"I'm in."

~O~

The third person to waltz into her office was certainly the least upset of the trio, but was notably tenser than usual. Carlisle nodded at Rose with an easy smile and let himself into Bella's office.

"I keep getting all of the rebounds from the conversations you're having today," Bella noted wryly.

Carlisle chucked in good nature. "And I trust you handled all of them?"

"That remains to be seen," commented Bella, not entirely joking.

"Well, speaking of those conversations, I have important information for you," he said, his smile slipping away.

Bella nodded for him to continue.

"With the current delicacy of the situation, I think it's best if we limit where we discuss such matters," he said pointedly. "The offices have been swept today and there doesn't seem to be any espionage but after we all leave tonight, anything can happen, despite all of our best efforts in security. These are not people I care to underestimate."

Bella nodded again, her face hardening as the discussed the Brigado's.

"I also do not wish to continue to draw any undue attention to ourselves by continually entering and exiting your new apartment or having Masen come to my home. So from here on out we will be meeting at a location; it's a private enough complex that several celebrities reside there. As of today, one of our special business units is now leasing a studio apartment there, so it is under none of our names."

"Which complex?" she asked lowly.

Carlisle locked eyes with her. "We pointed it out to Mr. Zhou last time he was here, and he was impressed."

Bella thought to VP of China's operations for a second, as she had only met him twice. But in those times he had mentioned his admiration for the Commons Apartments when they drove by it. Carlisle watched as she her face brightened in recognition.

"304," he muttered with a nod. "I need you two there at 7:00 tonight."

"We're in."

~O~

Edward and Bella arrived to the apparent new headquarters of the operations a few minutes before 7:00. They would have been even earlier had they anticipated the weird underground parking mazes they had had to get through to be able to enter the apartment complex. Carlisle really had been serious about the security of the place.

As they walked through the hallway to 304, neither of them said much. Bella was finding herself at a loss for words more and more these days.

When they got to 304, Edward slipped an old fashioned key into the door knob and twisted it two full rotations before they heard a click and he was able to push the door open. He glanced sharply into the room, holding his hand up to stop Bella from walking in. When he didn't see anything of immediate danger, he nodded and moved to open the door all the way for her.

"Thanks," she murmured as she stepped into the room.

Three blonde men were all seated at a table, and all three of them looked up at the arrival of the new people. Carlisle and Jasper smiled tensely at her and the third man gave a terse nod. Bella immediately recognized that she was stepping into a war room. She adjusted her purse on her shoulder and straightened her back as Edward came and stood next to her.

"Hi there," she said, more so to the unknown man.

"Ma'am," he said with a tilt of his head. He was a large man with muscles as big as Emmett's, but blonde hair and facial features resembling Jasper's.

Bella looked at Carlisle pointedly, waiting for him to introduce her to the stranger.

"You didn't tell her?" Carlisle asked, looking over at Edward.

Edward cleared his throat and glared at Carlisle. "If I remember correctly, that was _your_ responsibility."

"Tell me what?" Bella asked, looking away from Jasper and his strikingly similar companion. She looked at Edward, who was staring at Carlisle in annoyance. To his credit, Carlisle did not look thrilled with Edward either.

Finally, Jasper huffed. "Bella, this is my cousin Alec. He's an ex-marine and as soon as Carlisle briefed me, I called him and he got on the first flight here."

"And he's since been briefed as well," Edward muttered lowly next to her. She guessed he wasn't thrilled but another person knowing his secret, given that the more people who knew, the more danger his life was in.

"Welcome aboard," Bella said with an unconvincing smile.

Carlisle cleared his throat and scratched his neck. "Well…you see…there's more-"

"Just tell her, Carlisle," Edward said with an eye roll.

"Alex, will be…uh-"

"He's your bodyguard," Jasper interjected in exasperation.

Bella raised an eyebrow.

"My what?"

"I'll be in charge of your safety, ma'am," Alec informed her stiffly.

Bella gave him another forced, brief smile before looking over at Carlisle and Jasper. "When was this decided?" she asked, a bit of anger stemming from her voice. "And by who exactly?"

"I told you," Edward said smugly to them.

Jasper rolled his eyes and ignored him. "Bella, given the situation, you need extra security. He'll be stationed at a desk near the elevator at work when you're there, and when you leave, he'll be around in case the Brigados try anything with you."

"It's been decided that I'm getting a new 'assistant' as well, Bella," Carlisle said reassuringly.

Bella ignored them both and looked at Edward accusingly. He held up his hands in defense.

"I had nothing to do with it," he told her, a bit of smugness creeping into his voice. He had told them that she would not be pleased with the arrangement, but they had ignored him, and he was not entirely upset to be correct. "I did not spend all summer training you to protect yourself only to outsource the position to an individual who I'm suppose to trust based 100% on the fact that he shares some genetics with the illustrious Jasper Whitlock."

Jasper once again rolled his eyes. "You can trust him, Bella. You won't even notice that he's there."

 _I sincerely doubt that_ , she thought to herself.

"Are you getting an assistant as well?" she asked Edward with a raised eyebrow.

His eyes narrowed. "Of course not."

Bella looked over at Jasper with the same raised eyebrow.

"First of all, I'm not on the Brigado's radar like you are-"

"That you know of," Edward muttered.

"And and second of all," Jasper said, undeterred. He pulled his own hand gun out of the waistband of his slacks. "I grew up on a farm. I can hold my own."

"What does that even mean?" Bella huffed. "What the hell kind of farming did you do that would make you proficient with firearms?"

Jasper opened his mouth to reply, but the sound of the door knob twisting stopped them.

Working on instinct, Bella whipped her own Browning gun out of her large purse, widened her stance and clicked the chamber into place, just as fluently and in sync as Edward who grabbed his own Eagle out of his belt.

In an instant, they were both ready to defend themselves as the door opened.

And in walked Emmett McCarthy.

Bella lowered her gun as he stepped in, her wildly beating heart calming down at the sight of a familiar face.

"Emmett, what the hell?" Bella asked.

He was not supposed to know what was going on.

Emmett held his hands out in front of him, his iPhone in one hand, but otherwise unarmed.

Bella noticed that Edward had not lowered his gun yet.

"It's Emmett," she said, swatting his arm.

"And?" Edward asked, not lowering his gun.

Bella glared.

Edward glared.

Emmett glared.

It was a beautiful circle of animosity really.

Finally, Edward lowered his gun to his hip. Bella noticed that he didn't put the safety back in place, and she almost rolled her eyes. If he had it his way, he would shoot her cat and all of her friends and all of the interns.

"What are you doing here?" Carlisle asked, his voice less friendly than they were all use to.

"How did you even know we were here?" Bella demanded.

Emmett looked upset. "Something is going on here and I refuse to sit in the dark on the sidelines of it!"

"Who told you about this location?" Carlisle asked.

Emmett looked at his phone. "Jasper," he said with a nod.

"I did not!" Jasper argued.

"Find My Friends did," Emmett clarified glancing to the app that was pulled up on his screen.

Everyone in the room looked over at Jasper, who apparently kept the location services on his phone.

"Whitlock, I will shoot you."

"You're the one who didn't lock the door behind you," Jasper argued.

Edward scowled fiercely at Jasper.

The blonde man in question didn't seem fazed. "Look. The three of you can't do this alone and I can only help so much. We need all the help we can get but frankly, we don't have many people we can trust."

"And McCarthy falls into the category of people we can trust?" snapped Edward angrily.

"Of course he does," Jasper replied.

"Allow me to control my skepticism."

"Well," Bella sighed, "It doesn't look like we have much of a choice, so Carlisle, if you would fill him in."

And so, Carlisle began his tale of the beginnings of the Investigation and Specialized Crime division and his vision of ending crime and terror in Chicago by teaming up with the police to pool resources together and plant a spy within their ranks. Emmett listened silently, his eyes widening and hardening periodically as he kept glancing over at Edward, processing all that he was learning about the nasty man.

To his credit, Edward crossed his arms over his chest and glared for the entire duration of the story, looking less than thrilled with this turn of events.

Bella kept looking around the apartment to see if there was any alcohol because her day had been too damn long.

There was not.

Thoughts of Edward's whiskey cabinet continually flashed in Bella's mind and she let out a soft sigh while Carlisle spoke.

Finally, Carlisle concluded his briefing and Emmett looked like his mind was spinning with all of the new information. Bella was holding her breath, hoping her friend wouldn't insist on being dense enough to continue his crusade against Edward.

Emmett looked around the room and then nodded.

"I'm in."


	30. Chapter 29

The next week, Bella was pulled away from her morning dreams in the most delightful of ways.

She stirred to consciousness at the feeling of soft kisses being placed near the crook of her neck. The kisses were gentle and tantalizing and she slowly woke up, her toes curled at the slow and warm assault of licking, nipping and sucking at the base of her throat, near her jawline.

Bella's eyes fluttered open and she let out a little moan, both at the sensations created by his lips and the delicious morning stretch as she rolled into the arms of the man she had fallen so stupidly in love with.

"Good morning," Edward murmured against her skin, squeezing her soft and warm body against his own. He placed a kiss behind her ear and Bella shivered at the contact.

She let her eyes flutter closed as he continued his ministrations, working around the collar of the old dress shirt of his that she wore to sleep. As he suckled a particularly sensitive part, she arched into him and felt his erection rub against her pelvis.

"Mmmm," she moaned as he pushed away the ends of his shirt on her to reveal her bare breasts to him.

Edward allowed his nose to brush the soft skin and she let her eyes flutter open to see his easy grin before he began to kiss and suck on the rosy buds. Bella let out soft gasps at the feeling of his warm tongue on the sensitive buds. His hand moved down to her moist folds and Bella gasped at the light yet entirely pleasant contact.

Bella writhed under his continued kisses as he made his descent to her core where his mouth and tongue took the place of his fingers. Bella let out noises she couldn't help herself from making so early in the morning and the room was filled with her soft gasps and moans as her pleasure mounted and mounted.

"Edward," she gasped. "Edward now."

He was powerless to deny her.

He smoothly moved up her body and situated himself at her entrance, somehow removing his boxers in the process. When he hesitated for just a moment too long, Bella threw her head to the side in frustration and widened her thighs.

The two of them moved together so beautifully and so naturally, like nothing either of them had ever experienced. As he moved, she moved with him, and it was impossible to tell where one body ended and the other began. They clung together as he slid in and out of her, his own groans harmonizing with her gasps.

He swallowed her cries as she grinded herself against him, her body quivering and clutching his as he drove into her, stroke after stroke until both of them reached the peak of their pleasure and fell wordlessly into a pile of limbs. Each of them clung to each other, so sated and so perfectly content.

The room fell silent as their breaths began to even out and Bella let out a long, happy sigh as she snuggled up to his warm, naked body.

"Good morning," he repeated, kissing the top of her head as she cuddled into him.

"Good morning," she giggled, giving him a gentle squeeze.

"What time is it?" she wondered, peering around to get a clock in her eyesight.

"Don't worry about it," he dismissed.

"Edward, you wake up so damn early," she complained in a sated mumble.

Bella could practically hear him role his eyes in response.

"I trust you slept well," he said, resting his head on top of hers as he held her against him.

"Better than ever," she agreed. And it was true. Since she had moved into Edward's apartment and by extension, Edward's bed, she was sleeping well. Which was frankly surprising considering how anxious of a person she was and the current situation they had found themselves in.

"And I woke up well too," she mumbled with a satisfied grin.

"I don't know if I'll ever have the strength to stay away from you, Swan," he admitted.

Bella moved out from under his chin to look at him with a smile.

"That sounds okay to me."

She was treated to a rare, yet brilliant, Edward smile in response. He pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear as he gazed lovingly at her. Mornings were Edward's best time, she was learning. He was at his gentlest at dawn, before the toils of the day so quickly caught up to him when he left his bed.

No one saw this Edward, and it was quite possible that no one _would_ see this Edward. This was her Edward: pure, gentle, and kind. Because between the two of them, there was nothing bad. There was no suspicion, no fear, and no anger.

It was only good.

And when it wasn't her Edward who was around, usually at work and in public, that was alright, because she understood. She understood that he couldn't be like this in front of everyone. She understood that he was concerned about doting on her in public. She understood why he snapped at people and pushed them away.

Because under all of that, was the Edward she so loved.

"Granted," he said with a smirk. "I have a difficult time staying asleep when you insist on thieving the blanket every damn night."

Bella blushed but grinned. "Did you expect me to be a docile sleeper?"

"Of course not," he intoned.

She swatted his arm but he grinned at her.

"It is not every night," she argued, settling back in against his chest.

"Of course not," he placated again.

Bella huffed.

Edward held her tighter against him.

They were pulled out of their beautiful, rare, Saturday morning lazing by the sound of a smart phone buzzing against an expensive bed stand.

And the moment was over.

Both of them immediately tensed, Edward as if by instinct, Bella as a learned reaction from spending time with Edward. Neither of them moved for a second before Edward leaned over her and to where their phones were. Bella watched his face as his eyebrows furrowed and her own face reflected her confusion. Edward looked at his phone screen and then set the phone back down and picked up Bella's.

"It's Miss Hale," he informed her, keeping any disdain out of his voice. Bella reached for the phone in a confused wariness.

It was a Saturday morning and it was too early for Rosalie to be calling her.

"What's up, Rose?"

"Bella. Get to work, now."

She had never heard that tone from her secretary in all of the years she had known her.

"What happened?" she asked, sitting up in bed as Edward watched her sharply, recognizing her tone.

"They found Eric Marcus dead in the Cullen Consulting parking garage. Someone killed him."

* * *

Edward and Bella threw on clothes with little thought. Bella tossed her sex hair into a bun and Edward tried his hardest to tame his in between buttoning his dress shirt up. The two of them practically ran to the parking garage to get to Edward's Lamborghini.

A black car followed them out of the garage. Bella noticed it and looked in the rearview mirror as Edward blasted onto the street. He saw her gaze and his mouth tightened into a hard line. "Your bodyguard," he reminded her.

And sure enough, she recognized the blonde buzz cut of Jasper's cousin following them with an identical look to Edward. Bella almost lifted her hand and gave Alex a wave of recognition but upon seeing Edward's scowl, she dropped it. She'd have to brush up on the etiquette of having a personal bodyguard.

As soon as they neared the grand skyscraper that housed Cullen Consulting, they could see the flashing blue and red lights. Bella held her hand over her mouth as she saw the first eight police cars. She felt her stomach tighten and felt certain that she would be close to throwing up if she had any food in her belly.

Edward pulled his car into a spot that clearly said no parking, but given the parking garage was an active crime scene, Bella ignored it. Both of them got out of the car, Bella opening the door before the engine was even off. She rushed down the side walk but then waited for Edward to match her strides, which he did easily. The two of them walked towards all of the emergency vehicles and what looked to be news vans from different media source and as they neared them, she saw all of her people.

Carlisle was talking to a man in a police uniform and Esme was standing next to them. Both were stoic and composed as they exchanged words with the officer, but Bella could see the hurt and fear behind Esme's eyes. She nodded at her when she saw her, a small, grim twist of her lips accompanying the action.

Before Bella could get any further, people began to shout at her.

"Ms. Swan!" they yelled, "Ms. Swan!"

"Ms. Swan do you have a statement regarding the murder of Eric Marcus?"

"Is it true that you hired Mr. Eric Marcus?"

"Ms. Swan, can you confirm or deny that Cullen Consulting knowingly put Eric Marcus in danger?"

They all yelled at once, and as if in a scene in a movie, there were microphones, cameras and lights all pointed at her. People from various news stations and publishing companies were crowded in on her, attempting to get a comment.

Bella felt a warm, assuring hand rest on the small of her back.

"Just keep walking," Edward murmured next to her. He had slid a pair of Ray Bands over his own eyes and was looking straight ahead as people got closer to her. His form was tall and menacing as he escorted her past all of the different emergency and crime vehicles.

"Ms. Swan, was Mr. Marcus killed because of his work for the company?"

"Ms. Swan, can we get a comment?"

"Isabella! Isabella Swan!"

"When will Cullen Consulting be releasing a statement, Ms. Swan?"

Despite the fact that Bella was keeping her gaze low, she saw Emmett out of the corner of her eye and looked at him. Him and Rose were just getting to the scene from the other direction and upon seeing all of the chaos, he nodded in the direction of the lobby. Edward caught the nod too and the two of them pressed through the reporters and towards the skyscraper. Several police officers were standing guard at the doors, but Carlisle came out of nowhere and waved them off.

"They're all good," he said with authority.

The guards backed down and the three couples all entered the lobby together. The door shut behind them and other than a wayward security guard talking to a police officer, there was no noise. It was eerie and the first time that any of them had been in the space without other people bustling around.

Alice was already in the lobby, her phone to her ear as she spoke rapidly. Jasper was near her, his eyes watching her every movement as she paced. His whole body was tensed and Bella saw his hand staying near the waistband of his jeans.

Carlisle and Esme nodded at the officer that had let them in and then stepped away to where Rose and Emmett were.

"What happened, Carlisle?" Bella asked, her face hardened.

"They found Eric Marcus dead at 4:58 am this morning. Two bullets to the heart and a bullet to the head as far as they can tell, but there hasn't been an autopsy done yet. The body hasn't been removed from the crime scene and they're searching the garage for any trace of evidence."

Bella had a hard time swallowing.

"And the security footage?" Jasper asked, joining the conversation while staying near Alice.

Carlisle shook his head. "Apparently, the security cameras do not cover every angle."

"Of course they don't," Bella muttered.

"And someone knew that," Edward said harshly. "And they knew which angles weren't covered."

Rosalie looked over at two of the vans of local television channels through the glass doors. "The media thinks it has something to do with his job here. All of my work calls are forwarded to my cell phone and they've been calling nonstop. The public relations team has been forwarding all of their calls to Alice-"

"She's been on the phone for the past hour and a half straight with different people," Jasper informed Carlisle.

Alice saw all seven sets of eyes look over at her and then nodded towards her phone. "Of course. We will keep you updated as we receive updates. Yes, we appreciate your support. Thank you."

As she pressed the end button on her phone she let out a small growl and then composed herself and walked over to join them. Her phone started ringing again, but after glancing down at the caller ID screen she determined it not important enough to answer at the moment.

"Was Eric Marcus transferred into the ISC division recently?" Alice asked bluntly, looking at Carlisle, Bella, and eying Edward warily.

"I hired him three months ago," Bella answered with a sort of numbness.

It hadn't hit her that he had been killed.

And it hadn't hit her the reason behind it.

"Was he just placed on a new client?" Alice asked, no nonsense in her tone.

"He was placed on the case of Chicago's organized crime units," Edward answered flatly. "But that's confidential information within my division. The media and the public should have no way of knowing that."

"When?" she asked sharply.

"Last week," Carlisle answered.

He had placed him there.

Alice blew out a large breath and then squeezed her eyes shut for a moment as her phone continued to ring.

"What?" Emmett asked.

"Someone obviously leaked that information to the media," Rosalie answered. "They don't know which client he was on and they seem to think he was just transferred into the division, but they know that he had just recently got more involved in the investigation division and now he's dead."

"How did they get that information?" asked Esme sharply.

No one had an answer for that.

"It's possible he would have told family, which still would be breaking confidentiality. Otherwise it was someone within the company who had that knowledge and got it out awfully fast," Bella said suspiciously.

Alice tapped on her screen several times and then scowled to no one in particular.

"I don't know how, but this has already gotten everywhere in the matter of hours and they are not painting it as just an isolated Chicago murder, Carlisle," she said soberly. "Boeing, State Farm, and Microsoft have already called me and demanded to know what role we played in this."

"Half of our stakeholders have always thought the Investigation and Specialized Crime division was bad idea," Jasper reminded them all. "Ever since the expansion was announced years ago, they were against it. They've waited for our margins to drop from the move, and they haven't, but now this has happened and you know how much people like to be able to say I told you so."

"We didn't kill the man!" Emmett exclaimed fiercely.

"Fine, but if we knowingly have been putting employees in harm's way, we have a serious public relations issue at hands, and if this goes national, we could be in trouble," Alice replied. "Not to mention a potential legal battle if you look at it from an employee relations standpoint."

Bella rubbed at her face.

"So the media, for whatever reason, thinks that Marcus was brought into the Investigation and Specialized Crime division –but they don't know which client he was on- and now he's been presumably murdered and they think there is a connection between his death and whatever work he had been assigned by Cullen Consulting. Is that correct?" Esme asked.

Though Esme was maintaining a sense of professionalism, Bella could see it was a front and that she was actually really shaken about the violent death of one of their employees. Bella understood, because she felt just as shaken.

Bella tiredly dropped her hand from her face. "That's correct."

"Are they correct?"

"What?" Edward asked, looking at Alice with a raised eyebrow.

"Are they correct in their suspicions?" she demanded. "Was this murder because he knew something?"

No one said anything.

"That's not something we know at this point," Carlisle finally said.

"Give me your best guess," she deadpanned.

Her phone started to ring again.

"Carlisle."

"I don't know, Alice," he said honestly, frustration leaking out his voice.

Alice looked down at her phone. "It's the Bears. Apparently the NFL's worst football team also cares about who they do business with."

Another phone started to ring. Rosalie was the first to lift hers to her eye sight. She raised her eyebrows and looked at Bella. "It's Victoria," she said.

Before Bella could answer, Emmett's phone also began to buzz. With hidden trepidation, he glanced at the screen. "Well I have the CFO." Aro, the ever absent CFO who had been Florida golfing all week; she was somewhat surprised he was keeping up with current events.

They all looked over at Carlisle.

It was Edward who spoke. "They're going to want to know if you're going to shut down the ISC."

Carlisle shook his head and when he spoke, there was authority in the CEO's voice. "Tell them we don't have enough information at this point to make that decision. It's possible we'll look at suspending the operations during the investigation, but at this time, we are cooperating with authorities to learn more about this tragedy."

Each of the three with phones took a step out of the huddle as they answered their respective calls. Luckily Rosalie handled Victoria herself, because Bella was not in the state or mood to deal with her.

"What are you going to do?" asked Esme, concern in her eyes.

Carlisle and Edward looked at each for a moment, neither of them giving away anything in their gaze.

"That remains to be seen," Carlisle finally sighed.

"I say you take advantage of the fact that CC is a privately held company and don't have to answer to shareholders and keep it running," Jasper volunteered his opinion.

While he spoke, Jasper continued to glance back in Alice's direction and Bella could clearly see that he was concerned about his new wife's safety, even just being in a private building. The thought was incredibly sobering to Bella as she watched him grimly.

Esme shook her head and looked at her husband. "Carlisle, a man is dead in there, and he's dead because he is an employee of yours. You have to do something."

Carlisle and Bella both looked over at Edward.

They glanced at the man hated by other employees, who several partners had hoped to fire because of his unpleasantness. They each looked at the man whose life was endangered each and every day, not to mention the lives of all who knew him. They saw the man who was doing absolutely everything he could to keep the city safe.

And each of them knew that it wasn't enough.

* * *

Ooofta. Nothing ruins a good morning like that kind of phone call.

Thanks to everyone who is continuing to read and review - I truly appreciate all of your time.

Cheers!


	31. Chapter 30

It was dark, cold, and wet and Edward didn't recognize where he was, but he knew he had to find her.

He stumbled through the darkness, his body working slowly and clumsily, as if the atmosphere was heavier than usual, pushing down on him. He tripped on something as he tripped into a clearing in the darkness. His lungs were on fire and there was a piercing pain shooting through his head as he frantically looked around. He didn't know what he was looking for, but he knew he had to find it.

He recognized the house in front of him that was surrounded by the night. It was a house that the Brigado's owned, one which they used from time to time to torture victims.

Something cleared in his mind.

He had to find her.

As he tried to run, his whole body continued to work against him as all of his limbs screamed in pain. It was excruciating, but there was an all consuming terror about her safety that forced him to push forward.

Edward burst in through the dark house and found that there were no lights on inside. He felt around his waistband for a gun that was always there and felt nothing. He hurriedly patted himself down and realized with horror that he was absolutely defenseless. He patted his body down one more time, hoping to God he had missed it. He then heard a scream.

"NO!"

It was her voice.

She was downstairs.

Armed with nothing but his bare hands, Edward threw open the door that led to the place he had seen Roman torture and kill a man. His body was still searing with pain that he couldn't identify, but he ignored it as he stumbled down the stairs to get to her.

When he got to the bottom of the staircase, it was his worst nightmare playing out in front of him.

Bella was being held firmly by two large men in suits, each with a grip of her arm in one hand and a gun pointed at her with the other. Roman and Giovanni were standing in front of her as she struggled against her captors, sick grins on their face.

"Masen…" Roman said with a pleasant hiss, his face twisting into a grin. "So glad you could join us."

"We've been expecting you," Giovanni smirked.

"Edward!" Bella screamed in a way that he had never heard her before. "Edward they have-"

Bella's scream was cut off by one of the guards swinging his gun at and striking her across the face with the barrel. Bella reeled back from the stroke as blood began to gush from her lips that had been split open.

"Edward, you thought you could run from us…" Roman gloated. "You thought you could slink away and we would never bother you again. You thought we would never find you. You thought you could hide."  
Giovanni and Roman both laughed.

"And you started a family without telling us," the latter crooned.

"We're hurt."

"We thought you were our friend."

"Luca!" Roman hollered and Edward's body felt like it had turned to ice at their words.

Bella began to once again struggle with renewed vigor against the guards as Luca emerged from the shadows. He was pushing a cage in front of him, the size of which one would put their dog in. He had a sinister smile on his face as he looked at Edward before glancing down at the contents of the cage.

There was a small girl inside.

She couldn't have been older than three, and she was a strikingly beautiful child.

She had soft, shiny brown hair and bright green eyes. The eyes were rimmed from tears and there was fear on her baby face as she looked around with a quivering lip.

"Your daughter is a wonder," Roman commented gently.

Bella growled.

The guards next to her tightened their grips on her arms, and she let out a yelp of pain but continued to struggle against them, trying to get to her defenseless child who was terrified and in a fucking cage.

"What…delicate features she has."

"I already have a buyer willing to pay five million dollars for her," Luca gloated.

Edward's body surged with absolute rage and he charged forward. He was going to kill Roman – he had to protect his daughter and he had to kill him.

Roman was ready for him and so was Giovanni. The son intercepted him and threw him onto the ground, his body easily collapsing under the strange weight of the atmosphere. Edward's head whipped against the ground as he landed and Roman whipped out his pistol and held it over Edward's head.

"This is what disloyalty gets you Edward," Roman crooned.

"My only regret is that you will not live to see your daughter grow to become an exquisite bitch – one who will make many a men happy. Along with your wife."

"Edward!" Bella yelled. "EDWARD NO!"

And then Roman clicked his fingers and everything went black.

Edward startled awake with a gasp. He shot up into a sitting position in bed as he gasped for breath.

Bella shifted in the bed next to him, but didn't turn in his direction.

Edward was drenched in a cool sweat and his heart was pounding. He tried to get his breathing under control as he realized that the reality he had just been inflicted upon was not in fact reality.

After running his hands through his messed up hair no fewer than three times, Edward pushed himself out of bed. His breathing calmed down as he left the bedroom, careful to shut the bedroom door softly as he exited.

It had been a dream.

He kept repeated it to himself, but it was a seemingly impossible concept to grasp, considering how terrifyingly lifelike it had felt.

It had been a dream.

Edward wandered down the dark apartment in a vague sort of daze. He ended up in the kitchen where he noticed that the microwave clock read 2:04.

It had been a dream.

He leaned against the granite island for a moment and let out a long, shuddering sigh, his fingers gripping the granite so tightly he thought it would crumble. He tried to shake the image of what he had seen, and what he had been powerless to stop.

It had been a dream.

Pushing away from the island, Edward wandered over to the liquor cabinet. His hands found the expensive bottle of tequila he had bought in Barcelona with Bella. The cost had been obscene, but he reached for it without hesitation, and poured himself a generous glass.

It had been a dream.

Edward stood next to the floor to ceiling windows and looked out at the city. Even though most of the population was sleeping, the lights still twinkled across the Windy City, and they twinkled in every which direction. Sometimes the city made him feel claustrophobic, but after what his dream-self had just experienced in the woods in the middle of no where, he felt some small comfort being in the city amongst millions of others.

As Edward stared outside and drank his strong alcohol, he was unable to ease the terror and dread out of his body.

His mind was not on his side.

His mind would not even allow him the brief reprieve that sleep provided from the constant toils of the day.

Even his dreams betrayed him.

A vague sense of hopelessness settled within him as he drank, and it was hopelessness he had not felt during his time with Bella. For some reason, the insufferable woman dared him to hope, and dared him to believe her when she said with conviction that the future would be good to them.

But it seemed, within the deep expanse of his mind, that he didn't truly believe her.

And so he drank.

When he was down to only one final sip, he heard soft padding of feet behind him.

Instead of turning to the entrance of his tiny lover, he continued to gaze out at the city, allowing the alcohol to settle his mind, even if it was just slightly. He couldn't look at her at the moment – not after what he had just seen.

"What happened?" she asked quietly, not bothering to beat around the bush. Her voice was soft and full of concern and care.

Edward closed his eyes.

"Just a dream," he finally said, blinking his eyes open again. "I did not mean to wake you up."

Bella didn't say anything as she stood next to him and looked out at the city. Edward took a step over to the cabinet and topped off his glass wordlessly.

"A bad dream?" she finally asked as he stood next to her and gazed out at the the night.

Edward remained silent for a few moments as he considered what to tell her. For some reason that he had not yet fully explored, he found himself unable to keep things from the woman next to him. Her wide, trusting eyes always seemed to leave him powerless to giving her whatever truth she asked for.

He was maddeningly powerless against her.

"The Brigados found us," he told her.

She waited patiently.

"They found us. We had been hiding, and they found us. They killed me and planned to make slaves of you and…our daughter."

Bella's expression twisted into one of grief and despair. "Oh Edward," she sighed, aching to comfort him and not knowing how.

Edward drank.

And when he was done drinking, he drank again.

Bella let out a breath sorrowfully, her heart clenching at what he had just described.

"She looked just like you," Edward commented in a hollow voice.

Bella looked up at him but saw only blankness in his eyes.

She wasn't sure if she should pour herself a hefty glass of her own or pull him to her and never let go. Looking at him, she didn't think either option would help in the slightest. So instead, she turned her own gaze over to the city and stood in quiet solidarity with him, unsure of what else she could do.

Edward just shook his head to himself as he downed the rest of the glass of alcohol. He set the glass down at the cabinet and stood still for a moment, staring at Chicago and not looking at her.

"I'm not the person to give you a family, Swan. Not now and not ever."

* * *

Days at Cullen Consulting Inc. were growing tenser by the week.

Bella walked into her office for the week following the murder of Marcus Sharp and every day she felt like she was entering a battleground, especially on the 33rd floor.

People had noticed all of the additional security over the past few months. They remembered Carlisle's "allergic reaction" that ultimately resulted in him having another secretary who was always gone when he was gone. They knew that the ISC's numbers had readily risen over the years with more and more clients paying for the company's involvement in crime. They had noticed that the man who worked closely with that had been killed.

They noticed.

And they were afraid, and suspicious, and wary.

In Bella's mind, they had every right to be.

Both Alice's department and Bella's had been in overdrive since they had found Sharp dead and the subsequent interview with his wife had planted suspicion and drama about the cause of his death. Several media outlets were writing stories about the ISC and it's link to Sharp's death.

Alice was leading up the Public Relations team, who was doing their darndest to dismiss that suspicion from the media and their clients. Bella was working with her team internally to identify and address all of the concerns their employees had – especially concerns which would make them consider leaving the firm, because if that started, it was a chain reaction that couldn't be stopped.

Bella rarely saw Edward, save for the short period of time before the two of them collapsed into slumber at the end of the day.

She knew that to the Bridagos, Edward had written her off as someone just to fuck and get information about Carlisle. She knew that him showing her any affection anywhere outside the confines of their apartment could result in a slow and painful death for her. She knew it all, and she understood, but God was she growing so tired of it.

So other than a few glances into his office when she was on her way to either Alice's or the bathroom, she did not see much of the man she had grown to love so fiercely.

Another change in the days following the tragic killing of one of their employees was the presence of Esme Cullen within the office. Usually she supported the Cullen Foundation for charitable giving and was rarely seen within the day to day operations of the firm. Usually, she was a beloved presence amongst senior partners of the firm, especially given her position on the Board of Directors and her general delightful demeanor.

It hadn't been unnoticed.

"You're going to want to take a look at this, Bella," Rose said seriously as she appeared in her office with a newspaper in hand

 **CULLEN EMPLOYEE FOUND DEAD IN COMPANY PARKING GARAGE.**

 _"Marcus Sharp of Cullen Consulting was found dead by gunshots on the early hours of Sunday morning. Officials were onsite to close the garage and conduct a full forensic investigation. The police have opened an active homicide investigate. A representative from Cullen Consulting said the company is fully cooperating and supporting the Chicago Police Department in their efforts."_

Bella read the first few sentences but then stopped reading with a deep sigh.

"It's the third day in a row that Esme has been here…" Rosalie noted, "What's up with that?"

Bella looked up from the newspaper. She knew Rosalie was in the dark about everything, despite Emmett and Jasper knowing.

But she also knew Rosalie wasn't stupid.

"Have you talked to her at all?" Bella asked carefully.

Rose shrugged. "She said that it's been awhile since she's been here, and with the end of the quarter coming up and the recent tragedy, she likes to be around since the board will be meeting shortly."

Bella waited but only found Rose looking at her expectantly. "And you don't buy that?" she asked.

Rose gave her a funny look as she looked behind her through the glass walls where Esme was talking with the CFO, Aro, laughing and joking with him. "No, I don't."

"And your theories?" Bella asked against her better judgment.

"Well," she started conspiringly, "It's no secret that half of the leadership team is insisting that Carlisle shut down the ISC, especially after what just happened. I think Carlisle brought her in to smooth things over with some of them and try and calm them down."

Bella gave an impartial shrug. "I could see that," she said.

" _But_ ," Rosalie continued, "I don't get why."

"Why he would do that?" she wondered.

Rose nodded. "For someone who is all about being open to employee feedback, he sure seems awfully determined to stick to keeping the ISC division open, even if the majority of his employees disagree. It seems very out of character of him and I'm not the only one who has noticed," she said, again with the air of conspiracy.

Bella groaned. "You haven't been actively gossiping, have you?"

The assistant was offended. "Of course not. But I'm not the only one who has thought so."

"Does Emmett share your concerns?" Bella asked.

Rosalie scowled lightly. "No, he's convinced that Esme is thinking about coming back over from the foundation and she's just testing the waters before she makes the move."

It wasn't the truth but it was believable Bella mused internally.

"You know…that might actually be true," she mused thoughtfully.

"Really?" Rose asked skeptically.

Bella shrugged. "I think she's finally realized that Carlisle will always have that workaholic gene and that if she really wants to spend time with him, she might as well join him."

Rosalie considered this thoughtfully. Bella willed her to believe it and even spread it to anyone else who correctly guessed Esme's motives for being in the office.

"Well I mean, all of us do see our significant others at work," she agreed.

Bella nodded, going back to her email.

"Including you," Rosalie added pointedly.

"I'm not starting this, Rose," Bella said sharply. She was in no mood to defend Edward to anyone.

"I wasn't starting anything," she said, holding up her hands. "I like him."

Bella rolled her eyes at the blatant lie.

"I do!" Rose insisted.

Bella looked up at her with both eyebrows raised. "Really?" she said dryly.

Rose nodded. "He's not that bad."

"And what made you have the change of heart?" Bella asked skeptically.

"You're the smartest woman I know, Bella. If you see something in him, I'm on board. Plus, I've watched him around you. He may be a dick to the rest of us, but with you…well, something's different, isn't it?"

"So you like him?" she asked.

Rosalie finally cracked a grin. "I'm getting there, anyway."

Bella rolled her eyes but gave her friend a skeptical grin at her pained acceptance of her love. She figured it would be some time before her friends were on board with her relationship, but at the moment, that was the least of her concerns.

"Oh hey, you have the partner meeting starting in a few minutes!" Rose remembered.

Bella groaned.

"At least it's not the senior partner meeting that you love so much," she said in response. Bella was only mollified a little. The senior partner meetings killed her; the leadership/partner meetings were more of a lecture style presentation given by Carlisle once a quarter.

As if on cue, Emmett popped his head into Bella's officer. "Bells, you ready to head in there?"

"Of course," Bella muttered, grabbing her tablet in case she needed to take notes. Rose and Emmett exchanged smiles to each other and Bella could see that their eyes positively twinkled.

"Dinner tonight, babe?" Emmett asked Rose.

"Absolutely," Rose winked.

Emmett and Bella left the office and took the stairs two flights down with Bella's bodyguard trailing inconspicuously behind them. Emmett complained the whole time: "Bella," he whined, "Why do we have to take the stairs when there is a perfectly good elevator right there?"

Bella ignored him.

When they got near the auditorium, Bella could see Edward and Esme off to the side, talking lowly to one another. Emmett got immediately distracted by one of the other partners and went over to shake his hand. Bella went over to Esme and Edward, curious as to what they were talking about. As she got near, however, she saw Edward look down at his phone and then she could see his whole body stiffen.

Bella stopped in her tracks, knowing fully well what the gesture meant.

Edward muttered something to Esme, whose face remained fairly passive, but Bella could see the deep concern in her eyes and the two exchanged a few more words. She touched his forearm gently and then Edward gave her a stiff nod and turned on his heels, heading straight to the stairway opposite of where Bella has just emerged from.

Her heart dropped as she watched him go.

There was no scarier sight in the world than seeing Edward go to them.

* * *

Edward dragged himself up the flight of stairs with wariness seeping through his being. It had been a long afternoon in one of the Brigado's many underground bunkers/torture chambers, and though he had escaped relatively intact he had an overwhelming desire to say fuck it all to everyone and take Bella to bed and never leave.

But he couldn't.

With a barely audible sigh, he turned the key in the old fashioned door knob and pushed it open to reveal the sparsely furnished apartment that Carlisle had purchased as the unofficial headquarters of their operation.

The blonde executive was seated at a table, staring at some papers when Edward entered.

When Edward entered, looked up and nodded, but the frown did not leave his face.

"What is wrong?" Edward demanded.

Carlisle picked up a small item from his desk. It was so small, Edward could hardly see he had picked anything up.

"This bug found in Bella's office."

Edward's body tensed.

The offices had just been swept weeks ago.

"Their people have infiltrated the office."

Carlisle nodded.

"I believe so."

Edward wished it was the only imminent problem they were facing.

"What news?" he asked.

Edward's stare hardened. "Little news can be gained when their attentions were focused solely on executing a traitor." The man had been low in the organizational chain, in charge with mostly administrative work that went along with building their global drug empire. He had been careless in taking security precautious with his internet usage and the Brigados had found out and not been forgiving.

A slight shivered forced its way as Edward remembered the echo of his screams as they removed each and every limb, one part at a time. He shook his head, thinking of the information Roman had gleefully shared with him.

"The FBI agent-" Edward said slowly. "Chris Wilder is dead."

They were being attacked on all fronts.

* * *

 _"I'm not the person to give you a family, Swan. Not now and not ever."_

Thanks for your patience with this update. We have 12 action filled chapters and my favorite epilogue ever coming up.

My thoughts have been with everyone affected by Harvey, Irma, and Marie. Please consider donating to any of the countless organizations working to help save and rebuild lives. "We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone."


	32. Chapter 31

The crisp air of fall had officially settled into the streets of Chicago and indeed across the upper Midwestern part of the country. The leaves were presenting their final grand display before the cold and wind lazily batted them down in a matter of weeks. The weather was still favorable for the most part, yet each morning seemed to be a bit chillier than the previous.

The autumn season was comforting and other than tourists bustling to see the sights around the city, it was decidedly quiet.

In the past few weeks, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. After Cullen Consulting's murdered employee, Marcus Sharp, was replaced by dozens of other victims of violence the police had retreated back to their station on the other side of the city and the company had not heard from them regarding their murder investigation since. Edward had informed her that it was unlikely they would hear anything in the coming months, if not the coming years.

There were dirty cops in the Chicago Police Department.

The Brigado's owned them just as they owned much of the city.

This murder would join the countless other deaths that would never be solved, much less prosecuted.

Carlisle had always said as much, yet this was the first time Bella could see with her own eyes that the mafia really had the city under control. Through force, intimidation or bribery, -she still wasn't sure and Edward wouldn't say- they controlled the enforcers of the very laws they not only broke but absolutely disregarded.

It would not be the police that ever put an end to their bloody reign.

Additionally, they were close friends with the mayor. They had just hosted a charity gala for sick children with all of the city's best and brightest in attendance. A picture of Roman Brigado and the mayor with their dazzling wives had settled nicely into the front page of the newspaper.

Cullen Consulting had sent some of their partners to the event because they had little choice not.

The Brigados had not called on Edward in a couple of weeks either. Edward said it was hardly something to be concerned about, yet Bella was anxious. And in fact, she was relatively certain Edward was growing concerned as well, but he did his best to hide such things from her.

It was quiet.

And quite frankly, too quiet.

Carlisle told her that it was not a dangerous quiet and that she should enjoy the little reprieve of craziness. Bella had wanted to argue with him – but had stopped when she looked at him. He had aged much in the past couple of months. He looked just as wary as the rest of them, yet still maintained utmost confidence in what they were doing. He still had steely determination in his eyes, but he was growing tired of this war they had brought upon themselves.

And in the middle of all of that and despite everything, she had fallen even more hopelessly in love with Edward Masen.

Bella had woken up a few moments before and when she remembered it was a Sunday morning and an alarm had not just woken her up, she stretched out with a happy smile on her face. The heavenly bed she was in enveloped her like a cloud and her back had never felt better. Edward had fantastic taste when it came to that sort a thing and a practically endless budget.

She looked over at the man beside her and her smile grew.

Edward woke up before her every day without fail. He had a strict exercise regiment that he adhered to and was up at 4:45 in the morning every day except Sunday. And most days he made it to the office before her as well since her bodyguard dutifully followed behind her on most of her commutes. It was a rare thing that he slept in and to see him sleeping so peacefully warmed her heart.

As Bella let out another stretch she looked down the bed and realized that she, once again, had ended up with all of the bedding, minus part of the sheet that Edward had managed to hold onto in his sleep. She winced.

He accused her of stealing the bedding regularly.

Since he was always awake before her, she had never actually confirmed it.

Bella very gingerly lifted the warm duvet off of herself and carefully, oh so carefully, placed it over Edward's bare torso, holding her breath while she moved. Once the blanket was over him and he hadn't woken up, she relaxed into the bed.

"Saw that, Swan."

The words were sleepily grumbled and Bella cringed, having been pleased with herself. She looked over at Edward who still had his eyes closed and for all intents and purposes appeared asleep.

After a few moments, his eyes fluttered open and Bella was greeted with her favorite sight of green irises that weren't quite ready to wake up. His hair was disheveled and morning scruff covered his jaw.

"Thief."

Bella grinned cheekily.

"Apparently."

Edward shook his head to himself and then let out a lazy smile that made Bella's heart warm. He didn't smile enough. And when he did, she felt everything was exactly how it was supposed to be.

"Did you sleep alright?" Edward asked after an adorably large yawn.

Bella nodded as she snuggled into her pillow. "I don't think there's a way I couldn't have after last night," she remarked with a sly grin.

Edward smirked.

"Indeed."

Bella just grinned at him. With lazy strength, Edward reached out and pulled her into him so that she was neatly nestled against his warm, naked body. Bella let out a happy sigh as she snuggled up against him.

It seemed to defy the odds. The man was a double agent between the murderous mafia and a corporate office in which almost the entire staff despised him. He had a father that abandoned him, a mother that died and he had buried a younger brother. The world had been cruel to him again and again and the things he saw were enough to make the best of them shudder.

Yet.

Edward Masen was a snuggler.

Bella relished in the feeling of being so cozy with him. She cherished the moments they had together, knowing that when they got up and entered the real world, she could not be nearly as cozy with him.

"So," she said quietly, "I've been thinking about this afternoon…"

Edward paused in the soft nuzzling of his nose in her hair.

"Oh?"

"I don't think we should go."

Edward did not immediately respond.

"Interesting. I had rather figured the assumption was that I would be the one to back out."

This afternoon, they were having lunch at the Cullen's. With all of her selected family.

"Well. Maybe," she allowed.

Edward waited.

"You know…my stomach feels like I could be coming down with something…"

"Does it?"

"Well, I mean sort of but not really…"

"Swan, you're pathetic."

Bella pulled away far enough for him to see that she was, in fact, playfully disgruntled. "I am not," she protested.

Edward rolled his eyes. "They're _your_ family. Hand picked. By choice. Yours."

"Yes and they're a handful and some of them, quite frankly, are assholes."

Edward chuckled and shook his head to himself. He was in a curiously good mood, especially considering that he was certainly not always a morning person.

"I've long since resigned myself to the fact you have willingly chosen to surround yourself with the single most boisterous group of people you could find."

"You have?" she asked incredulously.

"Two of which I don't happen to particularly hate…possibly even three or four on my best of days."

Bella opened her mouth and then closed it as she was momentarily distracted in trying to figure out whom he was referring to. Edward smirked as he watched her think before shaking her head and pushing the thought away for another time.

He was not particularly thrilled about their projected events of the day. He personally considered this to be a different kind of torture than otherwise inflicted by the Brigado's, yet, it was a small concession he could make for her. He didn't have to like them, but his presence had only served to alleinate her from the people she was closest to. She had sacrificed enough for him to at least put on a nice face for a lunch with them.

Plus, the Brigado's would be thrilled that he had a reason to be in the Cullen's home. If they were followed, as was a definite possibility, Edward would have a reason that was both true and valuable if questioned.

"So lunch then?" she asked tenatively.

"Lunch then."

* * *

A few hours later, Edward pulled his Ferrari into the Cullen's long, winding driveway. The property was surrounded by extensive woodlands and offered much privacy once past the gated entrance. But in the late 80's, Esme and Carlisle had had more money than they knew what to do with and had bought up all of the neighboring lots instead of allowing them to be purchased by others wanting to build homes in the area. It was a beautiful property, to say the least, and seemed to suit one of the nation's best CEOs.

Bella had rolled her eyes when Edward had opted to drive his Ferrari rather than his usual Vanquish. The car was suitably obnoxious, yet did not look ill placed next to the Cullen mansion.

They had stood at the entrance to the house for a minute before ringing the door bell.

Edward was doing a fantastic job of hiding his distaste.

Bella looked green.

"You know, I think my stomach actually is being weird…"

Edward raised an eyebrow at her.

"Swan."

Bella sighed.

"Don't shoot them."

"I don't have the inclination to shoot people nearly as much as you seem to think."

"So you say."

And with that, Esme was pulling open the door with a bright smile on her face. "Come on in!" she exclaimed warmly, gesturing for them to step in the foyer. "It's so good to see you," she said, pulling Bella into a tight hug. She almost did the same with Edward, who was putting on a brave, if not strained face. Upon seeing this, her smile did not dim, and instead she simply rested her hand on his arm in an equally warm greeting.

"It smells wonderful," Bella commented as they walked further into the house.

"Chicken Italiano," Esme said as way of explanation. "Will that be alright, Edward?" she asked him.

Edward cleared his throat. "Of course," he said stiffly.

Esme gave a smile in response all the same.

They stepped into the kitchen where Jasper was standing near the bar area. He looked up upon their entrance into the room and gave them a smile, no less welcoming than Esme's had been. "Bells, Edward. Good to see you."

Esme went over to check on some things by the oven and Jasper stayed at the bar and for a moment, Bella stood still next to Edward, albeit a bit awkwardly.

Jasper stepped back from the bar area with two glasses in his hand. He came over and handed Edward the darker drink. Bella watched as Edward took it, his eyebrows raising in barely concealed suspicion.

"And this is?" Edward asked, a scowl fighting its way onto his face.

"Scotch," Jasper replied. "They do have some things figured out in Scotland," he added. There was a brief flicker in Edward's eyes at the mention of the nation, momentarily breaking through his mask while Bella noted the action with a furrow of her brows.

Edward didn't look convinced at the alcohol.

Jasper took a sip of whatever he had made for himself as Bella watched.

"Some days, you just need that sort of thing," he explained.

"What about me?" Bella said teasingly.

Jasper shook his head and eyed Edward. "You're not the one that needs it."

In turn, Edward rolled his eyes and then raised the glass to his lips. While he was inconspicuous about the fact that he definitely sniffed it before he took a small drink, Bella could certainly see and rolled her eyes. When Edward was satisfied he had not, in fact, been poisoned, he gave a nearly indecipherable nod to Jasper.

"Where is everyone else?" Bella wondered.

"Outside," he replied, heading in that direction.

"Doing what?" Bella wondered, following him with Edward reluctantly following her.

Jasper didn't reply, as her question was answered soon enough.

Alice and Rose were perched on a bench with Carlisle standing behind them, all looking over at Emmett. He was standing with his back to the house and was holding an incredibly high tech looking bow up against his body as he stared in front of him. After a moment, he released the strung arrow and it went flying across the backyard before it struck a tree, which already had three other arrows clustered together.

Bella looked over at Edward in confusion, but he did not have any answers. He was raising an eyebrow and had his lip curled back as he fought what looked like it could be an aggressive snarl.

"Em picked up a new hobby," Jasper explained, his voice taking an interesting tone.

Edward and him exchanged a brief look before Emmett interrupted.

"Picked back up an old one!" he corrected, lowering his high tech, expensive looking piece of equipment.

"It's all he's been doing for weeks…" muttered Rose as she moved to stand up from the bench, drink in hand. "Hey guys," she said casually.

"Hey Rose," Bella replied. Rosalie eyed Edward for a moment before he gave her a slight nod by way of acknowledgement. It was tense for a moment and each of them took a sip of their own drink while Bella wished dearly that she had her own. Once they had lowered their drinks, Rosalie nodded back to Edward. Her lips quirked up slightly in amusement.

Alice stood up and hollered towards the house. "How's the chicken, Mae? Should I start my salad?" She headed towards the door and offered a stiff, "Edward," as she passed by.

Edward didn't even bother to respond.

Bella leaned close and asked lowly, "She's not even one on your best days, is she?"

Edward looked over at her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk before returning to his glass.

"She's just pissy as usual," Rose explained regarding Alice. "She's been cranky as shit ever since she got pulled to support Public Relations."

Jasper's expression agreed with that.

"Of course," Edward intoned back uninterestedly.

Rose tipped back the rest of her drink in an impressive gulp and then looked at Bella. "Want a drink?"

"Please."

Rose let a soft snort out and then followed Alice into the house to go and get a refill.

"I thought your stomach was bothering you," Edward murmured.

"You know," she replied, "I'm just all around bothered."

"Which is where alcohol always comes in."

"One way or another."

Carlisle and Emmett joined the three of them and each of them nodded in greeting to Edward. "Nice of you to join us, Edward," Carlisle said with a genuine smile on his face, as pleased as his wife to see him.

"And why are you picking the hobby back up?" Bella asked Emmett, nodding at the bow that he had carefully sat on the bench Rosalie and Alice vacated.

"You never know when it could come in handy," Emmett said elusively. Bella watched as he glanced over at Edward for a split second.

"And that handiness compensates for its complete lack of subtlety?" Edward asked frankly.

"How about this, Masen?" Emmett crossed his arms over his chest, not bothering to soften his tone. "How about we play a game of hide and seek then? You shoot your gun. I shoot my bow. See who gets found first based on noise alone."

"With a silencer, I like my odds."

"Do you?" Emmett challenged.

"Depends who is seeking."

" _Oh good God_."

Emmett and Edward stared at each other for just a moment longer before Carlisle clapped his hands together.

"Edward I see Jasper found you some of the Scotch, h-"

"No no, he doesn't get to dismiss my methods when they could end up saving his ass some day."

"I did not dismiss anything," Edward replied icily. "I simply pointed out that your use with that in any type of combative situation is severely limited based on the sheer size and impracticality of that equipment."

"Limited does not equate to useless," Emmett glared back.

"You'd be useful as a sort of sniper," Jasper supplied, somewhat unhelpfully in Bella's opinion.

"Exactly, thanks J-"

"Alright, alright, that's enough. Let's just all hope that such a combative situation can be avoided if it all possible, since, while it's easy to forget, none of us are really trained for that."

Bella's jaw dropped.

"Well it's about time you realized that!" she exclaimed, old bitterness seeping through her tone.

Carlisle didn't look fazed and in fact his tone had warning in it as he replied. "In a sheer show of force, we are not the most equipped and I never argued that we were. Those who should be handling that have been bribed and threatened which leaves us with no other choice. However, what we are trained in is intel and that is ultimately the manner I hope that this all concludes."

Emmett, Jasper, and Bella all erupted at once in response to that with Edward muttering something under his breath to Bella and Carlisle immediately getting pulled into the bickering before they were all broken up by a loud yell.

"HEY!"

They all froze and looked over at Esme who was standing in the doorway. She raised her eyebrow at them before lowering it. "Lunch is ready."

And despite that all, she looked thrilled to have everyone home.

* * *

Monday morning found Edward leaving the apartment at 3:45 in the morning.

He had kissed Bella on the side of the head before he left, unintentionally rousing her from slumber. "What time is it?" she mumbled in sleepy confusion.

"Go back to bed," he commanded gently. "I have some business to attend to."

Bella's brow wrinkled in recognition but she nodded.

"Be careful."

In her sleepy haze, she burrowed into her pillow more. She watched as he left the room, glancing once over his shoulder before closing the door quietly behind him.

He could only be meeting one person at this time of day.

Bella attempted to drift back into unconsciousness, but was kept awake by a persistent sickness she felt in her stomach.

While she had been mostly teasing yesterday, her stomach had felt odd throughout the day, even after they returned from the barely-civil lunch. Shortly after Edward had left the apartment she had counted to five and then bolted to the bathroom where she proceeded to throw up the contents of last night's dinner.

And now, some odd hours later, as the sun was beginning to rise, she was sitting on that bathroom floor with her head in her hands, sure she was seconds away from throwing up again.

Next to her lie discarded pharmacy receipt, and a little white plastic stick. The stick was repeatedly flashing a plus sign, taunting her.

Succumbing to the urge, Bella leaned over the white porcelain toilet and threw up until she was simply dry heaving, feeling sicker than she ever had, the sickness multiplied by the weight of the sign flashing in front of her.

* * *

See you back here soon. And in the review section, letting me know that your seat belts are buckled and you're holding tight onto the "Oh shit bar."

All the love.


	33. Chapter 32

It was far too early for the sun to have even considered rising when Edward pulled into the old parking lot of an abandoned building. The building looked out over the Great Lakes and had been empty for years. It was a favorite place of Roman's to meet. Yet for Edward, it was a disturbing location.

The waters of the lake reflected the black sky. It was a calm morning and the waters had settled. It was growing chillier by the day and in a couple month's time, the lake would be attempting to protect itself from the elements with a layer of ice.

Edward thought of the large lake that his property in the north woods was on. That lake, despite everything, held happy memories. Because, despite everything, his childhood had not been unpleasant. His mother hadn't had much, but she had done her best for him and Henry. He had been a sullen child, but he had enjoyed their time spent at the cottage.

This lake held no such happy memories.

It was here that Edward had first seen the full effects of the Brigado's cruelty. It had been early in his servitude to the family and he had been committed to gaining their trust while also proving himself a worthy asset to their cause. By his father's request, Luca had brought Edward along on a mission.

Edward had mostly been an observer that night, but what he had observed haunted him some nights. One of the old managers of Casa de Padre's had developed a habit of collecting a portion of the cash that the stripper's brought in and pocketing it for himself. He had been a middle aged man and in his pleas, he had said it was to help pay the medical expenses of his ailing mother.

That hadn't saved him.

Luca had cut off each and every one of his fingers. And he took his time doing so, lowly taunting him under his breath as he did so. That man had screamed and screamed until he was hoarse, as Luca had occasionally taken swipes at other parts of his body. Finally, he had grown tired of it and shot him a few times in the head, bored.

Edward had been tasked with making sure the body sunk to the bottom of the lake.

One of the Brigado's other man, lower in the ranks, had showed him the proper technique. Once there was a sufficient amount of weight secured around the corpse, they had tossed him over the very railing that Edward was now staring at.

They never really had bothered to figure out if the bit about his dying mother had been true or not.

It didn't matter.

Edward remembered that night so clearly. He had eventually made his way back to Cullen Consulting to hand write the first of many reports, writing every painstaking detail. He remembered staring at his thumb nail that had blood wedged underneath the nail. He had scrubbed his hands for a long time, and been unable to get the little bit of rust out from under the finger. No one else would see it, but Edward had stayed up all night, staring at it.

It was the first night he had realized what he had gotten himself in. He had known they were domestic terrorists. He had been briefed and briefed on what the Brigado's were capable of and he had not hesitated when Carlisle had approached him. He had been determined. He had felt compelled to right a wrong from so many years ago. He had no one in this world because of his past actions and this was his penance.

Yet, when Carlisle arrived at his office around dawn that next day, Edward had been for him in the former's office. He had slid the papers over to him wordlessly and watched the CEO read them. Carlisle's eyes widened as he read and when he had looked over sorrowfully at Edward, the younger man had stared unwaveringly back at him.

"That," he had said, "That is what you ask of me. Never forget that."

Edward shook away the thoughts and lifted his black coffee to his lips.

Roman was late.

It wasn't the most unusual thing in the world, but Edward would be lying to himself if he said it didn't concern him. However, over the years, he had grown adept in keeping calm and keeping himself alive.

He went through his routine on autopilot. He breathed evenly, anchoring his body while he cleared away all of his thoughts. He pushed away every single feeling of fondness he had for the small woman in his bed, and all of the thoughts he had about her supposed family as well. He dismissed each and every thought that would be deadly if suspected by Roman. He pushed it all within the deep expanse of his mind so that by the time he had completed his routine, only a shell of a man remained.

A weapon to be commanded at will.

His breathing was still evening by the time a black, four door vehicle with tinted windows appeared out of the darkness. The vehicle crawled threateningly over to where his black Lambroghini was parked. Edward calmly took another slow sip of his black coffee before exiting the car, exuding the cocky persona that he had formed when he was around them. His Browning was nestled comfortably into his holster under his suit jacket.

As he exited the car, the driver of the Sudan was opening the door for his passenger. The second Roman's feet hit the pavement, Edward knew that he was not in a charitable mood. His black hair was gelled back and his suit was well pressed and spotless yet it was clear he had not yet slept. And he looked more tired than normal. The way he was carrying himself exuded annoyance and Edward figured this would be an appeasement meeting – at best.

"I trust this did not interrupt anything," Roman sneered.

Edward replied, "Of course not, sir."

"Good," he snapped. "What news do you have? Start with the Marinos." he demanded.

Edward had been prepared for this. However, even with his preparation, the answer could be construed as poor at best.

"They have been very quiet, sir. It seems they are slowly beginning to direct almost all of their focus to the Los Angeles area and it looks like they're moving completely out of Chicago. Our intel doesn't even place them in the city physically, except on occasional weekends."

That seemed to please Roman. "I gave the bastards a choice a few months back. Looks like they've pulled their heads out of their asses and opted for self preservation." That was news to Edward, but he simply responded with an amused, cocky smirk.

Roman's pleasure faded almost immediately. "And what news do you have on the intel on my family?"

"Little, sir. As I understand it, the ISC has been continuing to monitor your family's dealings, but they have not found anything substantial in weeks."

"What else?" Roman asked coldly with a raised eyebrow.

Edward shook his head. He had been hoped that he would not have to leak this intel, yet for the safety of his position, it appeared he had no other choice. He hated when Roman was in one of his angrier moods.

"There are rumors that the ISC may soon be closing. People in the office don't like it and want it gone. Many feel it was a poor idea since the beginning and people are loosing faith and patience with Carlisle more and more every day."

Roman smirked. "It seems I have more in common with the good people of Cullen Consulting than I would have expected."

Edward returned the smirk. "It would appear, sir."

"And will he listen?" Roman mused.

Edward hesitated. "I do not know, sir. In the past, he has been fairly receptive to the wishes of his staff, but I could not say for certain. I attempted to get the answer out of him yesterday, but it doesn't appear that he knows what he is going to do yet."

"Oh yes," he sneered. "Your little lunch date with the Cullen's and that pet of yours."

They had known.

Of course they had.

Edward had not been called in weeks and had not told anyone that he would be having lunch with Bella and them. Edward would have to figure out how they knew at a later time; he pushed those thoughts of his mind, just like he had moments before.

He had known that it would likely come to this. The moment he had allowed himself to consider any sort of relationship with Bella, he had known that this was the only he way he could spin it to the crime lord.

Edward was only dating her to get closer to Carlisle and get information from him. He had no emotional attachment to her, as far as Roman was concerned, and was being a good and faithful servant. And in their world, Bella had no idea of any of it. It was a carefully drawn web of lies, a web that could prove deadly at any second.

"It was nauseatingly domestic," Edward replied in annoyance, his lips curled into a disgusted sneer.

"My poor spy," Roman chuckled mockingly. "You are a man of solitude and here you have a woman to share your space with."

Edward's sneer only grew harsher.

"Were it not for her relative use, I would have put a bullet through my own head months ago."

"Come, surely she cannot be that bad," Roman crooned. "My sources say she is relatively intelligent. Is that going to be a problem?"

Edward snorted. "Her intelligence is a myth of epic proportions. All of her success and accolades can only be attributed to utmost nepotism of Carlisle Cullen. She has been fed everything in a silver spoon, despite what Forbes may have written. I don't anticipate her ' _intelligence'_ being a problem"

"Oh do not tell me you have not grown even the slightest bit fond of her."

Edward raised an eyebrow incredulously at the thought. He then let his lips form into a truly nasty smirk.

"I would be lying if I said I have not grown fond of the warm bed I come back to, sir."

Roman chuckled conspiringly. "It was risky on your part. Yet, I am pleased with your initiative in seducing the girl. It seems you were right in noting her connection with Carlisle and because of you, we can now enjoy unprecedented access to Mr. Cullen."

"I am glad to please you, sir."

"And it is because of your cleverness that your time at Cullen Consulting is now coming to an end."

Edward was well trained, yet with Roman's words, Edward's calm façade threatened to slip. He just barely hid any reaction. Yet, he felt his heart pound just a bit faster.

"Sir?" he asked.

"You will hand in your two week's notice today."

Edward nodded, without hesitation. "Of course, sir."

"The time has come for you to fully join me. With that little division of yours in shambles and the company losing faith in Carlisle and the new access you will continue to enjoy thanks to your ruse of a relationship with that bitch, there is little need for you still to be there," Roman explained impatiently as he lit a cigar.

"We are days away from developing the proper technology to hack past the security walls of the hard drive and retrieve all of the information they have on us, once and for all," Roman gloated, letting out a puff of cigar smoke as he did so. "Your Chief of Information Officer nor your IT department will be able to or _willing_ to prevent it."

"In the mean time, my men have been busy. In a matter of hours, the biggest scandal Cullen Consulting has ever had is about to be released to the press. They may be a privately held company, but once their clients begin to leave him, the employees will follow, and soon it will just be Carlisle and remains of his empire," said Roman, sneering the last word.

"I look forward to it," Edward replied without emotion.

"In the interest of not causing suspicion, an old friend of mine at Williams and MacKinnon has made you an offer to join their firm. You begin there as a consultant in two weeks. On paper, anyway."

Edward's mind was spinning yet he managed a smirk, riddled full of the arrogance he didn't feel. "I'm eager to get started, sir."

Roman said nothing for a moment, pausing to exhale a cloud of smoke and then lower his cigar slightly. He stared at Edward, and did nothing to hide it. He his gaze was piercing as he regarded the young man, his eyes hard and unyielding as he looked at him. Edward kept his shoulders up and his chin eye and met the stare as confidently as a man who had nothing to hide would.

Finally, Roman raised the cigar back to his lips and nodded.

"I look forward to you to completely joining us."

* * *

Later that morning after the dawn had begun to break, Edward was sitting in Carlisle's office, waiting for the CEO arrive. It was so early that not even his assistant was at her desk, nor was his other "assistant" who was actually his bodyguard. No one was up on the 33rd floor except for him. He briefly wondered if Bella had woken up yet or not; it was about that time where she usually roused herself out of slumber.

As a matter of safety, Edward didn't text. Apple was notorious for its message encryption, but he was too wary to trust them. He rarely spoke to Bella over the phone either, considering the fact that she had unraveled his secret based on a phone call. So he supposed he would just have to wait to see her when she got into the office.

Edward's mind was racing as he processed everything Roman had told him. He was so lost in thought that he almost didn't pick up on the footsteps approaching the office. He didn't turn when the footsteps briefly paused before resuming. He waited until Carlisle was in view.

Perhaps the biggest irony of the situation Edward had found himself in was the very fact that Carlisle Cullen and Roman Brigado were not so different in the end.

Both of them were roughly the same age and both of them were successful beyond belief…relative to their fields. They had both built their own empires from a young age. They both shared a similar, tireless work ethic. They were two of Chicago's most prominent figures, and they had been for decades. They each had hundreds and thousands of employees loyal beyond belief to them.

They each had immense power.

In the end, it was their convictions that separated them. While Roman acted in self interest, amassing power and increasing his defenses, Carlisle acted not so differently. It was in his best interest to make the city of Chicago safe and rid the area of crime and illegal activities. While Roman was offensive, Carlisle was defensive.

While Roman operated outside of the law, Carlisle abided by it.

And in the end, it was those two differences that separated them. It was the way in which they differed in their strategic thought and the way in which they regarded the institutions around them that put them as opposites of one another.

But in Edward's opinion, it was little more than that.

"I'm resigning."

Carlisle set his briefcase down on his desk slowly and then looked at Edward. He stared at him for a moment, and it was the very same stare that Roman had given him just hours before. Just as he had, Edward kept his shoulders raised and his head even as he met the stare.

"I see."

"I will be joining William and MacKinnon in two week's time," Edward continued flatly.

Carlisle slowly sat down in his chair before he met Edward's stare. Gone was the man who had greeted him so jovially as his house guest yesterday, who had clapped him on the back and offered him more of his Scotch. In fact, gone was the CEO with one of the highest approval ratings in the country. Instead, there was a man who could have been sitting behind a desk in the Pentagon or leading the FBI. There was a man who had become a general in this bizarre, underground rebellion they were waging.

"Have you turned this two week's notice into HR?" Carlisle asked carefully.

"No, I have not."

The two men looked at one another intently for a moment. Their conversations were always cautious in the office, even with weekly security checks in the partners' offices, it would be irresponsible to take chances.

"And what factors went into you making this decision?" Carlisle asked, still speaking in a guarded tone.

"The ethics of the company have come into question," Edward said flatly. "I am distancing myself from any type of scandal that will inevitably come about from the actions of the firm."

"Scandal?" Carlisle wondered, seeming genuinely surprised.

Edward stared for a moment. "It has been made clear to me that you do not have a close enough eye on this firm to be able to account for the actions of all of your employees," he said harshly.

Carlisle processed this information, his eyes hard as he interpreted Edward's words.

"And will two week's time be enough for you to properly distance yourself?" Carlisle asked, a hint of mocking in his voice.

"I sincerely doubt it."

* * *

"Good evening and thank you for joining us."

"They advise everyone from Microsoft, the Chicago Cubs, to Oprah, and tonight, we've received reports from an employee at Cullen Consulting that the firm has engaged in the process of routinely deleting and shredding thousands of emails, financial statements, and transcripts and has repeatedly lied to firms about the financial health of their company, while covering up millions of dollars of bad debt."

"Yes, Matt, we join you tonight for our nightly news as shock rings through the city of Chicago and across America. They're the coolest company to not be located in Silicon Valley and attract thousands and thousands of job applicants every year, and tonight we are learning that the apparent financial health of their company and the company's they advise is all a rouse."

"A whistleblower from the firm has spoken to us on the agreement that they remain anonymous. They say the firm not only has lied about their own numbers, but have manipulated the numbers of their clients as well. The company, they report, has lied to its customers and lied to its employees while the top executives have illegally and repeatedly withheld information relevant to their privately held company, but perhaps with more consequences, relevant to the publically traded companies they act as consultants for."

"The United States' government has quickly acted and the SEC has stepped in and is calling for a complete and total freeze of Cullen Consulting and all of its operatings as they investigate this serious allegation. If this proves to be true, I don't think it's too far off to say that this could lead to the collapse of the largest privately held firm in the United States, and the largest collapse of corporate ethics we've seen in decades."

* * *

And he hasn't even heard Bella's news.

I hope your Mondays are not nearly as manic as this one.


	34. Chapter 33

_"The US government has quickly acted and the SEC has stepped in and is calling for a complete and total freeze of Cullen Consulting and all of its operatings as they investigate this serious allegation. If this proves to be true, I don't think it's too far off to say that this could lead to the collapse of the largest privately held firm in the United States, and the largest collapse of corporate ethics we've seen in decades."_

Everyone in the room had paused when the evening news started and everyone watched as the anchor summarized what he thought he knew about what the past few hours had looked like at Cullen Consulting headquarters.

Bella was temporarily numb.

Cullen Consulting was a privately held company, and the SEC only handled publically traded companies. Since allegations against Cullen Consulting included the falsification of records related to their clients, the majority of which were publically traded companies, the SEC was involved, entangling the organization into an even bigger mess.

As the news switched to a story about a minor hurricane gaining strength in the Atlantic, she looked at those around her. The Feds had descended upon the office just about an hour ago. It was late enough in the afternoon that many of the employees had already gone home for the day, and the rest had hurried on their way out at the direction of their supervisors. Those who had stayed had been ordered out of their offices and ushered into various conference rooms, instructed to leave all technology untouched in their offices.

Carlisle firmly believed that they had nothing to hide and as such, set a calm example as he complied with their requests. His employees took the cue from him and for the most part, followed.

Presently, the blonde was staring at the TV, but it was clear to Bella that he wasn't really seeing anything. She could see his squared jaw and his eyes more intense than she had ever seen. He was calm, but he was calculating. He was their leader, and he was fearlessly rising to the occasion; at least outwardly.

Esme was standing next to him, and though she had her hand pressed worriedly over her mouth, she was standing next to him without any hesitation. Bella had seen them touch hands more than a few times, in a quiet show of solidarity.

Next to them, Jasper and the CFO, Aro, were muttering to each other. Jasper reported directly to him, and in many ways, did most of the CFO's job as the latter was transitioning to retirement. Hell, he had spent much of the summer at charity golf tournaments for the company. Bella hadn't seen him around and it was clear by the look on his face, that he was regretting his absence. Jasper was patiently answering all of his questions, confident that he had not done anything knowingly untoward. Mike, the senior partner in charge of internal accounting, was sitting next to them, hardly contributing to the conversation, but looking uncomfortable as hell.

Alice was sitting next to her husband and she looked livid. She was trying her best to remain calm, having been assured they had nothing to hide, but she was furious. She had been on Public Relations for the past few weeks and she knew, like they all did, that it would be a long time before they bounced back from this, even when it proved to be all false.

Emmett was pacing behind her.

Carlisle had been calm. He and Jasper were confident that all of the accusations were baseless, but by the way that he kept looking over at Edward every few seconds, Bella could see that he was worried they weren't entirely baseless.

Rosalie was sitting in chair in front of him, running her hand continuously through her hair. She did keep glancing warily to the woman next to her; Carlisle's assistant, Carol, looked ready to pass out without notice.

Seth had been basically dragged in by the ear by Edward and was looking unsure how to respond. He was looking around at everyone, silently begging anyone to say anything. He also looked very comfortable without his laptop in front of him, which he had been forced to leave at his desk.

And then there was Edward.

Bella stared at him without even trying to hide the fact.

The man she so loved was also staring at the TV screen and while his face was emotionless, Bella knew better. He was tenser than she could ever remember and his entire body radiated stress. He was standing behind a chair and she could see that he was gripping the back of it so tightly that his knuckles were white. He had not offered any assurance that this would be alright and if she had to guess by looking at him, he did not believe that it would be alright.

Bella's stomach churned and if she wasn't confident that she had absolutely no food left in her body, she would have rushed to the bathroom to throw up once again. She had her arms wrapped around her waist as she sat in the conference room that felt more and more like a war room with each passing moment.

She was pregnant.

Her entire career was on the brink of collapse.

And by the look on Edward's face, her entire life was on the verge of crumbling as well.

She had called in sick, unable to get off the bathroom floor. She had spent the better part of the day numbly over the toilet. She had been in sweat pants and a sweatshirt when Rosalie called to tell her that the SEC was descending upon them with reason to believe they had completely disregarded all ethics and that their company was more of a sham, and the books of their clients had been filled with bad debt.

And she couldn't say anything to Edward. Not right then and there. And to be honest, she wasn't sure how able she would be to tell him even if they weren't the middle of the biggest shit storm of their lives.

Bella wasn't sure if it was Carlisle's secretary who would be the one passing out.

The only person who was notably absent was the Chief Information Officer, Mr. Jacob Black. He left for a vacation in the Bahamas earlier that week.

"It isn't true," Emmett growled for the fourth time, pausing in his pacing before immediately resuming his strides.

Everyone in the room watched as he once again paused. "Jasper, Mike, you know our books are nothing but clean."

Jasper looked agitated. "Of course they are, man!"

Mike rubbed his hand over his face. "There shouldn't be anything untoward."

" _Shouldn't_ be?" Edward snarled. "Are you not certain of that?"

Mike paled at the aggression but remained firm. "We don't make mistakes."

"Really?" Edward drawled, baited against his better judgment. "I seem to remember a certain laxness that was employed by your entire department, if your handling of misguided interns was any indication of that. Forgive me, Newton, but you are still upset that I reprimanded an intern of yours that had entirely fucked up a balance sheet?"

Jasper jumped in before a red faced Mike could respond. "We haven't hidden anything and I don't know where any of this bullshit came from."

"A god damn whistleblower," Alice shrieked, her fury no longer contained. "It came from someone in our own fucking company! The United States government doesn't raid the corporate headquarters of America's largest privately held company for just nothing!"

"We haven't hidden anything," Mike insisted.

"You're absolutely certain of that?" Alice insisted, cutting off Edward who was about to ask the same thing. "Absolutely?"

Mike let out a frustrated growl of his own. "I don't have all of the statements in front of me…there's so much that goes into it and I can't be absolutely anything unless I had it in front of me. Which is impossible at the moment."

"Oh fuck me."

Esme gave Emmett a warning glance, but then seemed to be giving Mike a hardened stare of her own.

"Maybe not impossible…" Seth muttered under his breath from his seat next to Bella.

Bella looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. "Are you about to make me really glad I hired you?"

Seth, despite everything, gave her a playfully offended. "Have I not already?"

Bella rolled her eyes but then looked at him curiously. Her eyes widened when she watched him pull out a small tablet from where it was stashed in the waistband of his pants, under his thick sweater.

"Seth," she whispered in a hiss. "You aren't supposed to have that."

He looked at her and shook his head. "Well nothing that's going on around here is supposed to be going on, is it?"

"Mr. Clearwater?" Edward drawled.

Seth looked up as everyone in the room now had their eyes on him. Wordlessly, Bella swiveled her chair so as to block him from view of the glass wall behind them.

"Well let's not be so damn obvious," Seth muttered, not really caring that he was reprimanding the senior most leadership team of the company. Rosalie coughed in response, and then turned to look back over at the TV. She nudged Carol, whose eyes were the size of saucers, to do the same.

"Whitlock, tell him what he's looking for," Edward ordered lowly.

Jasper rose from his seat and casually looked through the glass wall. There were no officials in either his or another partner's office which were across the hall. Still, he was calm and slow in his movements as if he was simply stretching. He propped a hand on the back of both Seth and Bella's chair and looked as if he was just getting a better view of the TV before glancing down.

"Go to the company hard drive. I'll give you my login infor-"

"Unnecessary," Seth muttered as he covertly started tapping on the screen. Jasper rose an eyebrow but then focused and began to again mutter instructions as everyone else acted as if they were not explicitly obeying orders.

They watched as the news was back on and while the reporters were feeding off the drama of it all, Bella concluded that they really didn't have any information, though they did continue to mention the apparent and illustrious whistleblower.

"Who could possibly accuse us of continuous illegal actions?" Alice demanded once again. "We have withheld nothing!"

Bella looked over at Edward and silently implored him not to comment on the fact that Alice's work in Cullen Consulting branding was in any way relevant to the accusations. He was looking at the short haired woman with his lip curled back, but Bella let out a breath when he just shook his head and turned his focus back to the TV.

"Fucking bullshit…" Emmett kept muttering, feeding off of Alice's anger.

In the ghost town that was the 33rd floor, they heard a desk phone begin to ring. A few people in the room looked at each other, but it was ultimately ignored. The phone rang for about 40 seconds before it stopped.

But then, a few seconds after, another desk phone began to ring, this one sounding closer.

Still, other than a few glances between one another, it was once again ignored until it stopped ringing.

But then, just shortly after, another phone began to ring, this time, they could ascertain that it was ringing at the desk of Jasper's secretary.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Rosalie finally muttered. Pushing herself away from the table in a bit of a show of aggression.

Carol was looking over at Carlisle with wide eyes. "Sir, do you think that is wise?" she asked as they all watched Rose stomp over to the desk. Even Edward was raising a wary eyebrow.

Carlisle sighed. "I'm sure someone will stop her immediately if she's in direct violation of orders."

They turned to watch as Rose sat down at the desk to answer the phone. Edward caught Bella's eye for a half second, and she saw his brows dip slight with an unspoken question.

 _Are you alright?_

Bella gave an indecipherable nod.

 _I'm fine._

They had not had a moment alone since she had arrived at Cullen Consulting two hours ago, her body guard trailing behind before positioning himself at the entrance of the building when the security staff would let him go no further. She wanted to make sure Edward was alright, because she had caught Carlisle glancing at him with barely disguised worry more than a few times now. And she also desperately wanted to ignore the fact that as far as she knew, there was a human being inside of her.

There was a long clash and everyone looked over at Rosalie in surprise.

She had just dropped the phone with a gasp. Her eyes were wide in horror, as if she had just seen a ghost. She hastily picked the phone back up and said a few more words into the receiver before hanging up and then freezing for a moment in the seat. They all held their breaths as she walked about into the room. Even Jasper and Seth had paused mid sentence.

"Jacob Black is dead."

* * *

The phone call had been from the attorney of Jacob Black's estate, who had been contacted by Jacob's old college buddy that he had been cruising the Bahama's with. The two had been sailing around on a yacht and stopped in a calmer bay to dive into the water. Before his friend had known it, Jacob had disappeared.

They found him floating face first, unresponsive.

He was taken to a hospital but was pronounced dead upon arrival.

The hospital was doing an autopsy to try and explain the sudden drowning of a physically fit man in calm waters.

Rosalie had relayed all of the information to them in a numb tone. She had not liked the CIO, a trait she had undoubtably picked up from her boss, but she had hardly wished the man dead either. Especially given the situation they had all found themselves in.

"I need to get to a computer and phone," Alice had said. "Rose – your apartment is the closest, can you let me in?"

The blonde had looked uncertainly at Emmett who was looking incredibly unsettled. He had nodded his affirmation, eventually. "I'll go with you two," Esme volunteered. Alice looked at her gratefully. Esme Cullen was well known as the philanthropist wife who had helped Carlisle Cullen get the company going in its early days…if anyone needed a statement, she would be more the able to provide it.

Bella made no move to join them. She simply nodded as they left.

If she thought she had been numb before, she was utterly wrong. For at that moment, she thought and felt nothing. It was worse than feeling anything at all, yet, she did not know where even to begin.

"The rest of you all can leave," Carlisle said shortly after they left. "It's only a matter of minutes before they kick us all out anyway, best make it looks as if we're cooperating with them. I will contact you all as soon as I have news."

For a moment, no one moved.

But then, Aro pushed himself tiredly away from the table and stood up. He held his hand out to shake Carlisle's and the two men exchanged a nod. Mike followed the example, and Bella began to push away from the table as Carol gave Carlisle a fearful glance before also exiting.

"Did you get what you need to see?" Emmett asked in a low mutter, stepping over to where Jasper and Seth were still inconspicuously working.

"Not yet," Jasper answered in a voice above a whisper.

Emmett let out a stretch that was just too casual.

"Well then..." he said slyly, "I'm going to go to the restroom before I leave. If I run into any Fed on the way, I hope I won't be too loud. I'm always surprised by the volume of my voice when it's quiet on this floor."

An image of Edward calling Rosalie a guard dog flashed through Bella's mind.

Edward nodded at Bella before stepping over to Carlisle. Bella followed suit and the three of them formed a huddle of sorts.

"Black's death was no accident," Edward said bluntly.

Bella had been under no such illusions, but to hear Edward verbalize the thought made her stomach clench.

"I do not know what he knew or how he was involved but Black had ties with the Brigados." Edward continued, his jaw set and his mouth in a hard line as he spoke. "Carlisle, he's promised to destroy your empire and this is only the beginning of the carnage."

"It's now or never," Carlisle muttered lowly, ensuring that Seth could not hear him. "Especially if what the Brigados say is true in being near breaching our walls and accessing all of the data on them. With no CIO, I'm not sure we can withstand a cycle attack. We have to act now."

"You're sure?" Edward asked, staring at him intently.

Carlisle shook his head. "If we wait any longer, all of our credibility is gone. I regret that we delayed this long."

"What?" Bella asked, not following.

Edward looked at her, his eyes piercing. "Carlisle believes now is the time to turn all of our intel from the ISC over to the FBI."

Bella inhaled slowly.

"We have one chance at this," Carlisle said. "Wilder left me one contact before he died. He's supposed to be a director and supposedly has authority and integrity to lead the final charge against the Brigados."

"You're sure he's not been compromised?" Bella asked, her mind finally kicking into gear as she realized how monumental this was and how life threatening the situation could turn for Edward and by extension, herself.

Carlisle paused.

"If we get years of intel to him and they somehow have him in their pocket just like the rest of those agents and the God damn police, they will know it was Edward," she said, her voice beginning to shake as she finished her sentence and glanced fearfully at the impassive man beside her.

 _And they'll kill him_.

It was an unspoken end to the statement, but each of them knew it.

Carlisle looked at him solemnly. "Edward, I leave the decision up to you."

Edward looked angry that Carlisle would defer to him in the moment where he did not want any part of the decision. Bella took another deep breath, causing him to turn his gaze to her. They locked eyes and his gaze softened slightly.

It was not just his future that they were potentially forfeiting.

It was hers and the life they had been just began to build.

It was the life that grew within her, unbeknownst to him.

But as soon as she looked at him, she could see his decision had been made. This was their chance to end the bloody reign of terror of the Brigados. It was their chance to protect the innocent lives of countless individuals, individuals who had had their choices and dignity stolen from them, or had gotten so tangled within the web that there was no way out. It was not the easy choice, but as they stared at each other, each of them knew it was the right choice.

Upon seeing the look in his eyes, and knowing that despite the reputation he had amassed, Edward's beliefs were rooted in justice, she gave him a slow nod. After the childhood losses he had been subjected to, the man that he was now would protect those who couldn't be protected.

And she had no choice but to stand beside him in that.

They watched as Edward abruptly left the conference room and strode confidently in the direction of his office. He had prepared a line about why he needed to get into his office in the event of running into an SEC official, but it proved unnecessary as no one was in his path.

His heart was pounding heavier than he cared to admit as he moved swiftly to his desk, where the safe with his years of notes was. It was all of the hand written, eye witness accounts of everything he had seen from the Brigado's. They couldn't trust cyber security and had never put anything virtual, which he considered may have been the only thing that had kept him alive this long, given the news about Black and his possible ties to the gang.

He unlocked the first lock, briefly clenching his fists to stop the minute shaking, before he twisted the key to pull open the drawer.

And when the drawer opened an overwhelming sense of dread raged across his body.

The safe was gone.

* * *

See you soon.

all the love.


	35. Chapter 34

As soon as Edward came back into the conference room, Bella knew her life was about to change.

She could tell, just by the look in his eyes – a look she had never seen.

The two of them had interacted plenty within the halls of Cullen Consulting, and they had interacted plenty in the privacy of their bedroom.

She had never seen the expression that was on Edward's face before.

To anyone else, she was fairly sure he looked as cold and composed as ever. But she could see the flicker of fear in his irises, and it was the first time that particular emotion had ever shown through.

"It's gone."

Carlisle's eyes widened.

"Are you s-"

Edward cut him off with a sharp nod.

Bella squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, sharing in his terror. But then she opened her eyes, squared her shoulders and prepared to fight.

"So what do we do?" she asked, looking to Carlisle and willing herself to believe that he knew what he was doing.

Carlisle looked over at Jasper and Seth and then back at Edward. "It's time we go into defensive mode."

Edward's lips thinned out into a hard line. He opened his mouth but then saw Carlisle's gaze go over to Bella's just for the briefest flicker. Edward then closed his mouth and nodded. "Alright."

"Mr. Clearwater?" Carlisle said, pulling Seth's attention away from his screen. "Can you access the security footage from there at any location?" he asked.

"Yes."

Carlisle nodded. "Are you almost done?" he said, asking Jasper.

Jasper looked incredibly frustrated. "These don't look like they did when I last looked at them a week ago. The formatting is different and I don't know for sure because I don't have the other numbers in front of me…but they look wrong."

"Our balance sheets look wrong?" Bella inquired, letting her breath out as she spoke.

Jasper was looking more frustrated by the second. "I don't know!" he exclaimed, running his hand through his hair. "It's Mike's god damn job, I don't look at them that much. But they sure as hell don't look the same as last time."

"Seth, is there any way you can see if our systems have been hacked?" Carlisle asked.

The younger man grimaced. "If it was hacked from the outside maybe. It'll take me much longer if it was someone from _within_ the system who manipulated numbers." He then looked around the room and especially at Bella before looking at Carlisle. "They…are manipulated right?"

"Mr. Clearwater," Carlisle said in a firm voice. "I can assure you that absolutely nothing untoward has ever been allowed to happen in this firm under my watch."

Seth nodded. "I was just checking."

All of the sudden, Emmett's booming laughing could be heard from down the hallway.

"Seth," Bella hissed at him, nodding at his screen.

"Oh, right!" Seth exclaimed before shoving it behind him and tucking it under his shirt. He leaned back against the chair as if he wasn't hiding a piece of technology that the Feds had ordered to confiscated.

Just a moment later, two agents walked past their conference room. They glanced in, eyes hardened and suspicious. Carlisle met their gaze and gave them a confident nod. One of them hesitated for a second, but then fell right into step with his partner as they kept walking past the room.

Bella let out her breath.

"So Seth, you can access the footage of the security tapes?" Bella confirmed quietly.

Seth nodded.

"Okay, I'll take him back to headquarters. Edward, Bella, go back to your apartment. Hopefully we will get the information we need, but if our suspicions are correct, then be prepared for defensive mode. I will contact you when we know."

"If our suspicions are correct then I must insis-"

"No," Carlisle cut him off. "I have made my decision."

Bella watched as the two man stared at one another, Edward's nostrils flaring slightly and Carlisle as unwavering as ever in his conviction. Edward pinched the bridge of his nose and remained frozen in that position for a few moments. Bella held her breath, knowing they were speaking cryptically in the event they were being spied on, so she did not ask what they were talking about. Instead, she watched the man she loved as a war raged on within him.

"Carlisle, without those papers, we have to-"

The older man cut him off by holding up his hand. He looked over at Bella and then back at Edward. "I've risked both of you too much already."

Edward looked over at his lover and his heart clenched. She had her chin up and her shoulders back and she was remaining calm, but he could see the barely contained fear in her eyes.

He could withstand a lot of things, but he was not sure that her being in danger was not one.

Finally, he nodded.

"Go. Prepare what you need. Wait for my signal."

Bella looked at Edward and he nodded at her. She grabbed her purse from where it was on the chair near Seth, her gun tucked in the special compartment. Jasper's eyes followed her as she straightened up. "Be careful, Bells," he said, his words heavy.

With a swallow, she nodded. She didn't know what was going on, and she didn't know if Jasper did either, but whatever was about to happen was going to change the course their lives were on.

She could see it in Jasper's eyes as he realized that their numbers had been tampered with and they were all being set up. She knew as well as he knew that this would tarnish the resumes and careers of thousands of people if things didn't go their way.

She could see in Carlisle's gaze as he scanned the room around him and grasped the utter destruction that was about to fall on the company he had built. She could see the weight of the lives that had been lost and the lives that would never fully be out of danger.

And above all, she could see it in Edward's eyes as he looked at her. The way he was gazing at her, with a mixture of determination and fear. It was enough to make her understand, that there was no going back now.

There couldn't be.

"You too, Jasper. Seth," she said, forcing a smile. The younger man nodded back to her, his eyes solemn.

Edward and Bella left the conference room and took the nearest exit. They didn't look back in case an agent was wanting to question them. Neither of them said a word as they hurried down the stairs, not wanting to stop to find an elevator. He put his hand on the small of her back and led her calmly through the parking garage to where his Ferrari was parked. His other hand was hovering near his waistband, and her hands were clutching her purse, ready to pull out a weapon and defend them in need be.

As soon as they were in the car, Edward peeled out of the lot and was speeding to his apartment. Alec, Bella's bodyguard, was following behind them in his black car.

"Edwa-"

"Not here."

Bella took a shaky breath and Edward heard the intake. He looked over at her and his sharp face softened just as slightly. "I will explain. Just give me a couple minutes."

So it was with baited breaths that they finished the car ride and went up to the penthouse suite. Both of them were silent the whole time, not taking any chances that someone wasn't listening. Edward trusted the defenses of his apartment, but nowhere past that.

As soon as they were in the apartment and the door was closed behind them, Bella looked at him blankly. "What's defensive mode?"

"I get out of the country," he said flatly.

Bella's mouth fell open before she quickly closed it.

Edward leveled her with an intense stare as he took off his suit coat. "And there is not a chance I AM leaving without you."

Bella swallowed. "Where?"

Edward pulled the gun out of his waistband and set it on the granite island between them. He then ran his hand through his hair, something he only did when he was agitated.

"I have properties around the world, all of which have been bought by aliases for aliases. Thailand, Moscow, Capetown, Bogotá, Dubrovnik, Glasgow...they can't be traced back to either of us or Cullen Consulting."

Bella's head was starting to spin and she had to sit down on the stool next to her, lest she faint.

"How long?"

Edward shook his head. "Until it's safe again."

Bella let out a frustrated breath, "Edward, it may never be safe again here!"

Edward stared at her.

She shook her head. "You've been prepared for this," she accused.

Edward scratched as his chin, where a 5 o'clock shadow was coming in. Bella watched the movement as he considered his words before speaking.

"I have known it was a possibility," he finally said.

"In a world where the Brigados did not offensive against the firm and Wilder was alive, we would have been in a position a power over them. But with Wilder dead, Roman beginning his crusade, those papers being gone and the Brigados being close breaching our systems, something we're defenseless against with Black dead –assuming he was not in their pocket, which is a stretch- all we have is my testimony. Until Carlisle can get everything figured out, I need to disappear. And since you are in just as much danger as I am, you need to come with me."

Bella shook her head. "What were you wanting to do that Carlisle wouldn't let you?"

"Kill them."

Bella dropped her face into her hands and rubbed as she tried her hardest to wrap her head around what the fuck was happening. Edward and Carlisle had had plans and had put years into calculating this all out. Yet, she had been in the dark, despite the fact that her life was very much tied to Edward's.

She heard his footsteps retreat in the direction of their bedroom as he gave her a moment.

It would be a suicide mission for Edward to go in and try to take them out on his own. And Carlisle wouldn't let him. He would try and get someone at the FBI, someone who wasn't in the pocket of the Brigados. But with his firm being threatened by the biggest scandal to his Corporate America in years, he wasn't in the best of positions credibility wise.

When she heard the footsteps return, she said, "How are we going to get out of the city without them knowing?"

And when she didn't get a reply, she lifted her face out of her hands in confusion.

Her gaze immediately found Edward, standing in the kitchen. He had lost all color in his face and was staring at her in a mixture of shock and what she had to guess was anger, an emotion she was not used to having directed at her. She opened her mouth and was about to voice her confusion when she saw what he had in his hand.

The pregnancy test.

"Something you were planning on tell me, Swan?" he asked, his lips curling up into a sneer.

 _Oh fuck._

However, looking at him and seeing the anger in his eyes, she felt anger spread throughout herself in response.

"Yes, actually," she replied shortly.

Edward raised an eyebrow. "When exactly were you going to get around to that?"

"I'm sorry, when were you hoping I let you know?" she asked with a hysterical laugh, throwing her hands angrily into the air as the stress of the situation fully absorbed her. "This morning when you went to meet the the fucking mafia? Or should I have texted you even though you don't think that's safe? Or just announced it in that fucking conference room in between news segments telling the world that our company is about collapse in scandal? After you realized that safe was gone? When would you have preferred?"

"When did you find out?" he demanded.

"This morning," she deadpanned. "And then I spent the next four hours throwing up."

"And that's why you weren't at work?" he asked.

She gave him a terse nod.

"Swan, how-"

Bella let out a frustrated growl of her own. "I don't know, Edward!"

She had been on birth control. She would have noticed had she missed a pill and she was almost certain she had not.

Edward slammed the stick down on the counter with enough force to make Bella jump in her seat. Her anger began to soften as she looked up at him warily as he began to pace, his hands going through his hair and tugging it in all different directions. She watched as he muttered something under his breath, and she was reminded of that dream that had woken them up a couple months ago.

"This shouldn't have happened," Edward finally said with a long sigh as he ran his hand over his face.

She didn't say anything.

"We cannot do this right now," he said abruptly, stopping his pacing and looking her square in the eye.

Bella let out an agitated breath. "This wasn't my plan, Edward. None of this was my plan so please stop acting like it is."

Edward looked uncomfortable as he tried to steady his breathing in and out his nose, his hands gripping the edges of the island so hard that his knuckles were white.

"Do you understand how bad this is?" he finally asked, his voice soft yet oh so cold.

Bella shivered and pulled her cardigan tighter around her as she released her own breath.

"Yes."

"I do not think you do," he replied, his voice remaining that deadly calm that was beginning to frighten her.

"Of course I d-"

"I do not think you do," he repeated over her. "Because if you did. You would not be looking at me like that."

"Like what?" she demanded.

"Like you don't know what to do about this."

Bella's stomach twisted into a knot at his words and his hard stare. On instinct, Bella moved her hand to her flat stomach, whether to soothe her stomach or if it was a protective gesture, she did not know. Edward did not miss the movement as he stared at her impassively.

"You mean…"

"You will have to get rid of it."

Bella's whole body felt like it was stinging, but mostly it was just her eyes. She blinked a few times as moisture gathered beneath her lids. She had not been under any delusions about how unfortunate this discovery was, but the way he was handling it and the way he was looking at her so coldly was enough for her to feel the hurt.

"We can't, Swan," Edward said, his voice softening. "It wouldn't be safe."

Bella let out a humorless chuckle as she blinked at the tears threatening to form. "Kill our baby to eliminate the chance it might be killed?"

Edward's eyes hardened. "If I thought death was the worse thing that would befall my child, we may be having a different conversation."

Bella felt icy cold.

The two of them remained shrouded in heavy silence as they stared at each other before Bella finally dropped her head back into her hands. She stayed that way, breathing in and out, trying to stabilize her breathing and get rid of it's shakiness.

"I'm going to get another pregnancy test," she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Edward lifted his own head up and stared at her impassively.

"Before we finish this conversation, I'm taking another test to make sure it wasn't a false positive," she said, standing up from the stool. "I'll be right back."

Edward straightened up. "No, I'll go."

Bella let out a frustrated sigh. "There's a pharmacy 20 feet out of the front door. I can get it. I'd barely be leaving the building."

"Then I'll go with you," he said, reaching to grab his gun of the island, readying to go.

"It's fine. I'll go," she insisted.

"You shouldn't leave the apartment alone, I'll go."

"No!" Bella exclaimed, her body surging with agitation from their conversation.

Edward froze and looked at her, still an unreadable expression on his face.

Bella let out another breath as she picked up her purse and started towards the door. "I have my gun and my cell phone and I'm only going a few feet away. For a few minutes, I just need to not see you."

And then she was out the door before he could say anything, leaving him to stare at the door that had just been slammed. Despite the million thought coursing through his mind regarding everything that had just happened in the past hour, every instinct he had urged him to go after her. However, with their first real fight unfolding in front of them on one of the most tumultuous nights of their lives, he could give her a couple minutes to herself.

He looked at his watch.

She had five minutes before he went after her.

~O~

After the elevator let her down to ground level, Bella stomped out of the lobby. She looked both ways before crossing the two-way street, seeing no cars coming as she darted to the corner pharmacy. Everything in the store was over priced, but it was convenient and right now, she needed convenient.

Without wasting time, Bella looked around the store and saw a dozen people milling in the isles. Seeing nothing untoward, she hurried over to where she knew the pregnancy tests were. As she was just about there when she stopped in front of the granola bar section. She stared at it for a split second before grabbing a box of Cliff bars with a growl. If they were going to be fleeing the country, she was going to need a god damn snack.

As she was standing up, she noticed there was a man who had come up right behind her.

She stiffened.

He was standing far too close for comfort and though she couldn't get a good look at him, she felt his presence. She started to take a step to the side, and he subtly moved right along with her.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up.

"Miss Swan," the man murmured lowly.

Bella moved her hand slowly, moving towards her purse where she had her gun.

"If you pull that out your friends die," he said, his tone low yet calm and disgustingly conversational.

Bella froze.

She was still staring at the energy bars in front of her, having not moved a muscle. She felt him get even closer. To anyone else, it would look like he was simply examining one of the bars next to her.

"Now that I have your attention," he continued, his voice still calm. Bella looked down at the phone he shifted into view and narrowed her eyes to see what he was showing her. Her heart thudded painfully in her chest as she realized what she was seeing.

It was Rosalie's apartment.

It was from the vantage point of where she knew Rose's entertainment center was. The view was zoomed out, but she could clearly see Alice on the phone, sitting next to Esme on the couch while Rosalie stood aways behind them.

 _When and how had they gotten in there?_

Bella's throat constricted.

"If you tap a toe out of line, this camera on her TV will cause the entire system to explode," her murmured conversationally. "And they will die."

Bella felt a sheen layer of sweat break out on her forehead. She was thinking everything at once, yet her mind was blank, overcome with a terror she had never before felt. She gulped and the nodded, letting him know she heard him.

"That's a good girl," he crooned. "Now, unless you want me to activate that and the one that's in your boyfriend's Ferrari, you'll do as I say."

 _Edward. Oh, Edward no._

"Now, why don't you go and pay for those and then leave the store. Get in the black car outside without saying a word. One step out of line and your friends and lover are dead."

* * *

See you next week.

All the love.


	36. Chapter 35

These next two chapters are going to be tough but I will try and post them relatively soon so that no one is left hanging with our favorite characters in a bad spot. As a result, there may be more grammatical errors than I would like - apologies! And for those that need the assurance, the ending will not be a sad one.

* * *

Bella got into the car.

She exited the pharmacy without so much as a glance up to the penthouse. It was too late at night for anyone to be really around, even if Chicago seemed to always be bustling. There was no one around to help her and she was powerless to do anything other than she had been directed. The lives of her friends -the closest thing she had to family- depended on her obedience.

Even if that obedience was about to lead her to her own death.

Bella's mind raced as she clutched her purse and took small steps towards the black vehicle with dark windows. She only had seconds to assess the situation and as she considered her options for escape or defense, her stomach knotted to realize she really had none that would not harm someone.

She could get her gun out of of her purse, but they would see the movement. She felt the man leaving the store behind her, within a few paces distance of her. Bella thought she recognized him as Luca, Roman's second and favorite son. She couldn't get the gun without him hurting Alice, Esme and Rosalie.

So she got in the car with a furiously pounding heart and a layer of sweat breaking on her forehead.

Almost as soon as she was engulfed in the darkness that greeted her in the interior of the car, she noticed another man in the backseat. Before Bella was even in her seat, the new man had his hand on her arm and yanked her towards him. She had not even a moment to struggle before he was forcefully pressing a cloth over her nose and mouth.

Her body raged against what felt like suffocation, but his grip was firm, and within seconds, all Bella knew was darkness.

* * *

By the time she stirred to consciousness, her mind was shrouded in fog, but she knew something was not right.

She was covered in darkness.

Bathed in it and wrapped in it, as if it was a cocoon. It was the kind of black that was so dark and so thick that you couldn't see your arm in front of you.

Truly, she realized as she blinked, there was not an ounce of light streaming in from anywhere.

And as she assessed this darkness in a somewhat unconscious haze, she blinked a few more times and remembered the events that had led up to this. She lifted her head and tried to sit up but found that she could not move.

Bella's heart immediately started to pound as she tried to move her legs and arms.

Nothing.

She felt them of course.

And as she tugged and attempted to flail she realized where they were.

Her arms were secured above her head. They were secured by some type of cuff at the wrists that was expertly fastened and didn't allow for really any movement of of her arms. And it was a similarly horrifying story with her legs. As she tried to kick, she realized they too were stretched out with her ankles which also had a restraint on them. It allowed her almost no movement at all from her legs, due to how snug the bindings were.

Gravity indicated that she was horizontal. She was lying down on her back and as she lifted her head to try and look around and try and find any slack at all within her bindings, she realized something else.

She was naked.

Bella's breath started to come in short gasps as if her lungs were repealing air from entering them. She couldn't breathe as she felt the cold air dancing across her entirely bare skin. She felt her chest rise and fall in staccato beats as the panic began to overwhelm her.

She tugged again, more frantic this time as the severity of the situation held her hostage.

They were tight.

They would not budge.

Bella almost let out a cry but instead bit down on her lip. She bit so hard that when she tasted blood, she released the appendage with a gasp. As the iron taste seeped into her mouth she tried her best to take a deep breath.

Again, her lungs constricted out of sheer terror and she found difficult inhaling.

 _Breathe Swan. Breathe._

It was Edward's calm voice she heard in her head. As she let out more shallow, terrorized breaths, she brought forth Edward to mind. She mentally clung onto him, thinking of him and the calmness in which he approached everything. She thought of him and how protected she was around him and thought of the love she had for him. She thought of it all as she slowly coaxed her lungs into allowing more air into them until finally she could take a deep (albeit shuddering) breath.

Once she was breathing as normally as possible, she tried to gather her bearings. She was smart. She knew she was smart. All her life, it had been part of her identity. And now, she clung to that, reminding herself of all of the praises she had received and all of the many people from a young age who had commended her intelligence. She needed to believe it if she had any chance of survival. She was smart.

Bella did not know where she was.

Even though her eyes were attempting to adjust to the lack of light, she could not see much. It seemed to her that she was in an empty room. It was cold, but not terribly so. She strained, but could not hear any sort of noise around her. She could be in Chicago…or she could be anywhere in the world in a darkened room.

She swallowed.

As she tentatively shifted her body as much as her restraints allowed, she tried to sense any type of injury. Other than a stomach that was in knots and the blood she tasted in her mouth, she did not feel injured anywhere else. There was no open wound on her that was being rubbed by the air. Her muscles felt heavy, but, they had before she had lost consciousness too.

When had that been?  
It could have been 30 minutes ago or it could have been days ago.

The thought made Bella start to panic again, but she maintained her ability to breathe. She fought through the terror and kept breathing. She forced herself to keep thinking and tried to calm her lungs down once again.

It couldn't have been days ago, she reasoned with herself. Her stomach would surely notice if she had not eaten in days, and other than a little bit of a grumbling, she was not starving. Unless they had given her nutrients while she was unconscious, but they wouldn't have been able to do that…

She thought of the tract marks she had seen on Edward's arms so long ago on that bathroom floor in Cullen Consulting. For some reason, that told her that had they wanted to, they could have found a way to get some type of sustenance in her.

Which left her back to square one.

She didn't know where she was or when she was, but she knew it was the Brigados that had her. And considering the fact that she was devoid of all clothing, she knew that if she didn't do something, her fate would be gruesome and horrible at best.

But what could she do?

Bella almost let out a growl as she tried one more time to get any type of movement away from her restraints. She wiggled her fingers, trying to them over the cuffs, but everything so snug that she could only get them as low as her palms. She felt tears of helplessness prick her eyes and she fought to blink them away. She fought through the despair and sheer terror and focused on taking steadying breaths.

Wherever she was, she was lucky enough that there were people who would notice her absence.

The men, women, and children that the Brigados usually bought and sold were not so lucky. They were usually individuals with no one to give a shit if they went missing, or if they did have a family that cared, that family had no wealth or resources or overall ability to go after them. She knew this. She knew it because it shattered her heart when Edward had told her.

But she had people.

Her self appointed family would know she was gone. Edward would know she was gone. They had the resources to try and find her, and she knew with conviction they would. If they could.

Bella remembered the phone Luca had shown her and felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

They had a way to instantly kill Rosalie, Alice, and Esme.

There was nothing to say that was not true for the rest of her friends.

For Edward.

She felt her throat constrict at the thought. She was unable to swallow as her breath once again grew choppy.

They would come for her. If they were alive. If they were not already suffering the same fate as her.

Oh how she wanted Edward.

They should have run. They should have run before waiting for Carlisle's signal. They should have gotten out of the country. They should be living in some destitute hut or cottage or log cabin in the middle of the woods. Oh how she wanted that with every fiber of her being.

Just as her breathing was beginning to even out once again, she was suddenly bathed in a harsh light.

"Time's up bitch."

* * *

Edward's head felt like it had been on the receiving end of a few thousand bricks landing on it. It was an overwhelming pain, and it was the first and only thing he felt as he blinked his eyes in consciousness.

"And he awakens."

Edward blinked at the taunting croon and struggled to move his body as fast as his mind was reacting to the situation around him. Before he could try and reach for his gun, two hands were around his neck and forcefully snapped his head back down to the ground. The impact made a loud clunking noise and Edward saw stars and internally cursed as the pained seared across his head.

"Dovidus, that will do for now. I still have use for him."

Roman.

As his vision cleared, Edward saw the man who had just been on top of him step away. As he took in the harsh fluorescent lights, he realized he was in one of the Brigado's bunkers. The floors and walls were polished concrete that always seemed to smell like the strongest of bleaches from whatever torture had previously been inflicted upon a victim. It was one he had been in before, so that meant they were at least still in the Chicago area.

Bella!

Terror gripped him as he remembered that before he had lost consciousness, his little warrior of a woman had not been with him.

Before he could process this further, he was being roughly yanked up by the brute force of Dovidus. The man shoved him onto his knees as if he was a sack of flour and then before Edward could even consider reaching for one of his guns, he felt the cool metal of a barrel of a gun being forced against his neck.

"And here is where you will stay."

Edward rolled his shoulders back in the most dignified of ways, giving a nod of his chin as he did so. Dovidus pressed the gun harder against his veins before removing it from Edward.

In front of Edward was Roman Brigado.

And it was just Roman Brigado.

Roman was standing in front of him, looking the picture of ease. He was dressed in a black suit, sans a tie. His black and graying hair was gelled back perfectly. As he lifted a cigar to his lips, he cocked an eyebrow at Edward, but then lowered it as he blew out a cloud of smoke in a leisurely manner.

"I think I always knew," Roman said with a smirk on his face, not an unkind one. In fact, to Edward, it looked vaguely…fond.

"Sir?" he asked when Roman did not continue.

"You came to this family too conveniently. You…an employee tired of being abused and under appreciated by the great Carlisle Cullen, coming to join us. To be our spy. To be our inside man in an organization we had not yet penetrated." Roman stopped to inhale once again and blow out some more smoke. "We have plenty of men in the police department and in homeland security and the bureau and even the CIA. But we had just began to plan to get inside that firm of yours when you offered yourself to us."

Edward maintained a passive face as Roman continued to reminisce.

"You wished to make a name for yourself. And we have always appreciated and nurtured talent here, and I had no doubts of the talents you possessed. We were not so foolish as to just take your word. I had someone look into you for months before I could trust you. You proved your worth continuously at the beginning, your information being invaluable in protecting some of our biggest assets. You were smart, you were capable, and although I did not trust you for it, you were unattached. Luca liked you and I did too, Masen," he said with that same oddly fond smirk before pausing again.

"Giovanni never trusted you. For the longest time, I figured it was jealously. Things come easy to you, Masen. Your mind works quickly and without error. The cars and money you were rewarded with likely only served to infuriate Giovanni, but my son has always been the jealous type. Luca has always liked you. He and I treated you as if you were part of the family."

Roman sighed. "Still, Giovanni was suspicious."

Edward blinked once but otherwise did not dare and move a muscle.

"And eventually I got tired of his constant complaining. He got that from his mother," Roman commented with an eye roll. The friendlier his tone grew, the more Edward felt ice begin to spread through his blood. "So I allowed him to have his own investigation of sorts. A small one, mind you. I didn't want to waste resources so I told him to use my wife's step cousin. The boy has been sapping up resources at his Ivy League school for long enough, it was time for him to prove his worth," Roman said with a roll of his eyes before pausing with his cigar.

He raised the cigar to his lips and then paused and tilted his head as he stared at Edward with that same smirk on his face.

"And how convenient it was that Cullen Consulting offers such phenomenal internships."

Edward was careful not to react, though internally he let out the longest string of curse words he could think of. No small amount of rage coursed through him as he watched Roman inhale.

Of course it would be a god damn intern which would lead to his demise.

Fate truly did loathe him.

And that bitch had a sense of humor.

Keeping his gaze passive, he eyed Dovidus out of the corner of his eye. The large man was standing off the side, his hands folded in front of him and his gun in one. Edward had never heard him click the safety back on.

If Edward had to guess, his orders were to shoot to kill.

Edward waited for Roman to continue talking, willing his body to remain calm as his mind raced with possible ways to make it out of this situation alive.

Things were not looking good.

"Come," Roman called, not even bothering to raise his voice or look in the direction of one of the doorways.

Edward flexed his back, trying to feel whether or not there was a gun in his waistband. When he didn't feel anything, he swore to himself.

Of course he didn't have a gun.

The last thing he remembered before he lost consciousness was taking a sip out of the bottled water he kept in pantry. Bella always commented on the fact that he was killing the planet with all of his plastic water bottles, but he didn't trust tap or other water sources that he couldn't see. They had to have gotten into his water somehow because Edward didn't remember anything after taking a drink of water while he waited for Bella to return from the drugstore with her pregnancy test.

His heart seized as Roman waited for whomever he had called.

Bella could have been anywhere.

It was unlikely that she made it back from the store before the Brigado's had moved his body. How had they gotten into his penthouse? Had she walked into a trap? Had they left her alone? Edward's mind raced and be fought to remain calm, praying to that same cruel bitch, Fate, that Bella was safe somewhere. As he remembered why she had left the apartment in the first place, he felt a sharp pain in his heart.

Before he could further dwell on this, another man entered the room and Edward found himself looking right in the eyes of Matthew Romero, the marketing intern at Cullen Consulting.

Fuck.

"Matthew even got to meet your Miss Swan before any of us," Roman added, clapping his in-law on the shoulder with a chuckle.

The young man in front of Edward was staring at him with a cocky grin. He was a handsome, fresh college graduate; he had nice brown hair, shiny white teeth, and a baby face. Edward had disliked him the moment he and Bella had run into him on the 33rd floor – a floor he shouldn't have been on.

He had been the intern Bella had put on probation after he had been opening different files on the company drive on his laptop and virtually poking around in the ISC. At the time he had played it off as an honest mistake, and they had believed him. Alice and Jasper had been on their honeymoon and he hadn't had much to do other than acquaint himself with the company. And it seems that had been a huge mistake.

But as Edward looked at Matthew, he could see in his eyes the same thing he had seen when he had threatened the boy with bodily harm for trying to get into the ISC files: fear.

"Stupidest fucking interview I've ever had," Matthew said with an eye roll, replying to the Bella comment.

Edward almost scoffed. Swan was good at her job. Cullen Consulting was notorious for difficult interviews. That boy had likely barely squeaked through.

"Matthew here has been telling us some interesting things about your habits, Edward," Roman said, his voice finally losing the faux friendliness that he had been speaking with. "It seems that after every time you are with us, you return to Cullen Consulting almost immediately. And it seems you and Carlisle Cullen meet more often than any other partner."

Edward raised his eyebrows. "Sir?" he asked calmly.

"And your desk has something that no one else's in that firm of yours has," Roman said, ignoring Edward's question. "Luca," he called.

In walked the second son and in his arms was the safe that held every single note Edward had ever written about the Brigado's illicit dealings.

He could not think of a single way to explain the safe. He had been trying to come up with an explanation since the instant he had seen that it was missing from his desk, and he had nothing.

Roman was looking at him with a full smirk, his eyes dancing furiously as he eyed the man on his knees in front of him. He had a look of glee on his face that Edward had seen often.

It was the look he got before beginning the torture of someone who had betrayed him.

"You and Carlisle Cullen must be protecting some extremely important. My best locksmith has been unable to open it. He's since been _relieved_ of his position," Roman explained with a sadistic chuckle and Edward knew the man was dead somewhere. "Now I understand there is a warning about curiosity killing the cat, but as I see no cats around, you'll have to humor me, Masen, because I find myself extremely…curious about what is in here."

Luca was looking at Edward with disgust on his face. There was also excitement. And it was the same look Roman had on his eyes. They played with their victims – there was rarely a simple killing with the Brigados.

"You will tell me the code to this safe."

Roman's words were crisp and Edward clenched his jaw as he boldly met his stare.

"And to make matters all the more interesting…" Roman trailed off, not breaking eye contact with Edward. "Giovanni!"

Edward did not break Roman's stare, even as he heard a door opening and sound quiet wheels brushing across the polished cement. It was not until Roman's lips twisted back into a sinister smirk did Edward finally look to see where Giovanni was entering the room.

And when he saw what was in front of him, his heart stopped.

"Miss Swan gets to participate too."

* * *

I've been putting off posting this part of the story for awhile . . .stick with me, grab a buddy, we'll get through it.

I'll see you soon.


	37. Chapter 36

WARNING: While the following chapter does not contain rape, it does to some extent detail the torturing our duo is suffering at the hands of the Brigados. And while Bella is not raped, she is very much much naked and at the hands of the Brigados, so the implications are both implicit and verbal. Please be kind to yourself and if you do not feel you will be able to read this, message me and I will send you a brief recap.

* * *

"Time's up, bitch."

Bella was blinded by the light being turned on in the dark prison she was being kept in. Her pupils constricted and her body seized in terror at the harsh words. She blinked a few times, wincing as the man in front of her came into focus. He was leering at her as he entered the room and Bella attempted to swallow.

She recognized him.

It was the other Brigado son, Giovanni. She remembered seeing pictures of him in the files she had received so long ago when Sharp had investigated Edward. He looked just like his brother Luca. He had the same black hair, gelled back in a stylish way that exuded power. But where Luca had a certain boyish look that allowed him to potentially pass as friendly, Giovanni only had hard lines.

One rare occasion when they had spoken about the Brigados, Edward had mentioned that Giovanni was the worst of them.

He was a sadist and had never followed his father's rules.

Bella watched as he approached her. Her instincts were screaming at her to fight and run, but she was powerless with the bondage holding her hostage. Instead, she did not move a muscle as he stalked towards her, a salacious look in his eyes that filled her with fear.

"Mmmmm," Giovanni moaned appreciatively, slowing gazing up and down her body.

Bella clenched her teeth.

She felt violated under his heavy stare.

She wanted to scream at him but she was entirely at his mercy.

Giovanni put one of his hands on her naked stomach.

The very same stomach that she had just learned contained a beautiful and incredible fragile part of her and Edward.

Before she could even think about it, she flinched away from him and heard a low growl rumble in her throat. It was a foreign sound even to her own ears, instinctual though it was.

A slow smirk slid across Giovanni's face as his hand went to roughly cup her naked breast.

"Oh the fun you and I are going to have together, Miss Swan."

Bella's jaw continued to clench and her stomach coiled as he harshly fondled her breast. Her chin went up defiantly but she said nothing.

Giovanni reached and grabbed her chin roughly, yanking her head to look in his direction.

"And what a pleasure it will be to break you in."

Bella tried to move her head away from him but he only tightened his hold on her chin, flexing his fingers and digging into her soft skin so that she had to look at him. They stared at each other before Giovanni finally smirked again and pushed her chin away. Bella let a shallow breath out of her nose and watched his movements, silently fuming. She felt tears continue to try to make their way out, but she fought them.

She would not dignify any of his comments with a response.

And she would not let him see her cry.

Giovanni's hands moved down her naked torso again before pausing at the tight curls at the apex of her thighs. Before she could react, he roughly grabbed at the fine hair there. "What the fuck is this?" he demanded in disgust.

Bella's stomach clenched in an attempt to expel its contents as he manhandled her most intimate of areas. Giovanni saw her body stomach convulse and then laughed softly to himself. "God, Masen is fucking disgusting. This will be the first to go."

"Giovanni!"

Both Bella and Giovanni froze at the impatient voice. Giovanni then rolled his eyes and released her. With a look of annoyance Giovanni kicked down at the table she was on, which released a lock on the wheels. He then moved over to where her wrists were fastened and pushed at the table, moving her towards the opening of the door.

 _"Miss Swan gets to participate too."_

The cold excitement in the voice that was speaking made Bella shudder. She looked around her but could not see anything other than shining concrete, due to her horizontal angle and the restraints binding her. She tried to be brave, but with Giovanni's leering face upon her and more people in the room, her heart once again began to pound rapidly.

"Oh come on," said a voice that she recognized from the drug store. "Stand her up, Giovanni," Luca complained.

"What is she doing here?" he demanded.

 _Edward_!

Bella felt her heart surge as Giovanni stopped rolling the table and moved to her side to bend down.

 _Edward was here! Oh God, Edward was here. Oh God._

Giovanni moved the weird table contraption that she was on. And then she was no longer horizontal but was instead, almost entirely vertical. She felt all of her weight shift with gravity and her arms strained with the weight that pulled against her cuffs. And as she was straightened up, she saw a sight that would haunt her for all the days she had left.

Edward Masen on his knees before the most dangerous crime lords in the world.

And he was looking at her as impassively as he read the paper. Yet as she met his stare, she saw unabashed terror in his eyes and her breath got caught in her throat.

He was trying to protect her.

He was trying to tell the Brigados that she was not important to him, not important enough to torture to hurt him. His cool gaze was his last ditch effort to spare her of the worst of what was coming.

"We wanted to meet this interesting woman of yours," Roman explained with a chuckle as he walked over in Bella's direction.

Everyone in the room watched him stalk towards Bella in the same way that his son had. Bella's body tensed, very aware of her nudity in a room of clothed and armed men. Her eyes did not leave Roman's as she tried to fight her body from shaking. Roman lifted his hand to cup her cheek.

"And interesting you are," Roman crooned softly, his touch softer than Giovanni's had been. "You seemed to have ensnared my spy…whether he'll admit it or not," he said, almost fondly.

Bella said nothing but kept her chin raised, despite her instincts to recoil from his touch.

"And what has he told you about me and my family, Miss Swan?" asked Roman, his tone immediately less fond.

Bella again said nothing.

Roman lifted his hand away from her cheek only to bring it back harshly down as he struck her. It was painful and surprised her, leaving the tears to threaten to fall from her eyes.

"You will answer me when I ask a question," he hissed menacingly.

Bella breathed in and out her nose as she looked at him.

"I don't know who you are," she finally replied, her voice hoarse.

She was prepared this time, but his second blow still made her head whip to the side from absorbing the force of his hand. She couldn't help but let out a gasp at the pain this time.

"You will not lie to me when I ask a question," he hissed again.

Bella bit down on her lip and finally lowered her eyes from his, once again fighting the urge to sob. As she looked down she saw Edward, still on his knees. And a beefy man in a suit standing behind him with a gun to his neck, forcing him to let straight forward and not over in Bella's direction.

Bella felt heavy at the crushing realization that this would very likely be the end for them both. Her only hope for them was to stall long enough on the off chance that Carlisle and her friends could find them…because looking over at Edward –her beautiful, powerful, and strong Edward- and seeing him undefended and on his knees, she knew they were in trouble.

"Like I said. I'm afraid my curiosity has gotten the better of me," Roman said, stepping away and looking over at Edward. "And I don't believe you don't know who I am…just like I don't believe Edward here does not know the code to that safe."

Bella's eyes shifted over to Luca and for the first time realized what he had in his arms.

She was careful not to react.

It was the safe.

With all of Edward's reports on the Brigados.

It was the inexplicable truth that Edward was not really Roman's man.

And it was death for them both.

"And of course I could simply kill you both immediately. But, what's the fun in that?"

Giovanni cleared his throat, causing Roman to look over at him in annoyance.

"Yes," he snapped impatiently. "You can have her, son. But I'm telling you, you won't be able to break her in enough to find a buyer."

Bella saw Edward's shoulders and neck tense.

"I don't need to find a buyer," Giovanni said petulantly. "I'm keeping her for myself."

Bella was biting down on her lip so hard she once again tasted blood in her mouth. But it was the only way she was keeping her entire body from convulsing from sheer terror at the conversation they were having regarding her apparent future as some type of sex slave.

"Giovanni," Roman snarled warningly. "Not now."

That seemed to put him momentarily in his place and allow Roman to continue his diatribe.

"We'll make a game out of it," he said as his glee returned. "Luca, you take Edward here. Giovanni, you may take the bitch – keep it civil. You each get one tool of choice. Whichever of you can get their respective love bird to admit to their lies will be rewarded."

Giovanni let out a delighted laugh. "Just like old times!"

Luca looked equally as eager but upon looking from Edward to his father, he frowned. "Not sure it's a fair competition. That bitch will give in way easier than him."

Roman gave his son an indulgent shake on the head. "See son, what you don't understand is that I do believe Masen is quite attached to the girl. And Giovanni will continue to play with her until he gives me the information I want. Besides, you can have our whistleblower over here to help you."

 _Whistleblower_?

Bella then realized it was not just the Brigado family and the beefy man in the room.

There was an intern from Cullen Consulting with them.

Matthew Romero.

For a moment, she only saw fire. Her fists clench with rage as realized who it was who had betrayed him. And she'd been the one who hadn't fired him when she had the chance. This was her fault.

"Pick your instrument and get started," Roman concluded, clapping his hands together.

* * *

Luca picked a knife.

Giovanni selected white powder and a bottle of water.

Bella watched with trepidation as Giovanni approached her with a wicked gleam in his eyes. She swallowed and tried to be brave but her resolve to withstand his efforts was crumbling before he even began.

"You're choosing to scar her?" Roman asked incredulously. He had lit another cigar and was gallantly spectating. "You really aren't planning on selling, are you?"

Giovanni smirked. "It'll remind her who owns her."

Luca was taking off his suit jacket and wasn't able to contain Edward's growl.

"She has friends in high places, Roman. Don't touch her."

Edward's words were icy and furious.

Roman rolled his eyes. "Dovidus," he said with a nod.

Dovidus stepped offered and kicked Edward in the back, so hard and so fast that Edward was barely able to brace himself before he was thrown to the ground. Dovidus lifted his foot and delivered another powerful kick and Edward's ribs cause him to wince. The large man kicked once again and Bella couldn't help but gasp as he surely broke several of Edward's ribs.

"Get rid of his shirt while he's down there," Luca called from where he was speaking lowly with the Matthew.

Bella watched in horror as Dovidus yanked at Edward's shirt, causing his arms to go back at a painful angle while the white dress shirt was ripped away.

"Enough of that…for now," Giovanni crooned, turning Bella's attention from one horror to another. Giovanni moved at some things and then Bella was lowered once again so that she was horizontal, still painfully exposed to the room. He set the powder and the water near her hip on the table. He snapped on some latex gloves as he looked down at her.

"It is such a shame that we're going to destroy this beautiful skin you have…" he murmured, reaching to stroke her breast down to her hip. Bella's forehead was beginning to sweat and her heart was pounding painfully in her chest while her stomach tied itself deeper into a knot.

Edward let out a growl of pain.

Bella's body seized as she tried to look over to him. Giovanni was standing purposely in the way, but she could see Matthew advance over to where Luca was with Edward.

"Over here, bitch," Giovanni ordered. He raised his hand and delivered a swift slap to her cheek, causing her to look over at him and see what he was doing.

She watched as he dumped some of the white powder onto her left side, a few inches below where her pubic bone was. It was no more than a golf ball sized amount. She tensed when the powder made contact with her skin but when she didn't feel pain, she relaxed.

"I'll ask you what my father asked," he said quietly. "What has Masen told you about my family?"

Bella shook her head.

Giovanni's lips curved into that sinister smile.

"So be it."

And then he unscrewed the water bottle and began to pour it over the powder on her leg. It was a little at first, but as soon as the two elements connected, they formed a reaction. Pain shot through her as the chemical started to sizzle and burn her skin. She gritted her teeth together and said nothing.

Giovanni smirked and tipped more water onto the patch.

Edward let out another pained growl from somewhere in the room.

Bella's body was tensed and her forehead was sweating as the substance reacted violently to the water. She could hear the sizzling as it burned through her flesh. She tried to fight it, but she couldn't help herself from letting out a yelp out pain as she writhed unwillingly against her restraints as pain seared through her.

"Please," she whimpered, unable to stop the words from tumbling out of her mouth.

Giovanni rolled his eyes but reached over with a cloth to wipe the water and chemical off of her leg. That did little to ease her skin that has shriveled under the chemical and was angry, red, and blistered. Bella exhaled in temporary relief, even though the pain still seared through her and she could still hear the sizzling of her skin.

The relief was short lived as he picked up the white powder and once again dumped it on her skin. This time it was a more liberal amount and it was on her opposite side, near her hip, a few inches away from where her pubic hair line was. Bella tensed. Her hands were clenched so tightly into fists that she was sure her finger nails had pierced the skin of her palms.

Giovanni raised the water bottle to his lips and then paused when they heard a thud and a muffled groan of pain. He looked behind him, a vantage point Bella still could not see, and then chuckled. He took a sip of water and then looked down at her.

"Now, let's try this again," he said, moving the water bottle to hover over the spot. "What has Masen told you about us?"

Bella tried to take a deep breath through her nose. When she let it slowly out of her mouth without saying anything further, Giovanni's eyes narrowed and he began to let the water dribble onto her skin.

It hurt more this time.

She couldn't stop the cries that left her mouth as her skin burnt under the substance. She let out a scream as it sizzled against her and small bubbles start to burst as it boiled on her soft skin.

"What has he said?" Giovanni demanded.

Bella writhed as much as she was able to against her restraints, unable to stop the tears that were now escaping her eyes at the sheer pain. She heard another yell from Edward, and it was only the sound of his own pain that prevented her from crying out the truth to Giovanni.

"Nothing!" she cried, banging her head back as her skin was burnt away.

Giovanni sighed this time, picking up the cloth and wiping the bubbling reaction of her skin. It did little to ease the pain and Bella let out another cry as her burnt skin was exposed to the air, still sizzling from its role in hosting the reaction.

"You really are going to be difficult to break in," he sighed, shaking his head. "Lucky for you I always did enjoy a challenge. We'll have some fun, you and I."

Bella turned her head, wanting to looking anywhere other than him. Giovanni was having none of that and reached over to grab her hair. He fisted her locks and yanked so hard that he surely got a handful of hair pulled out. He pulled tightly as he forced her to look at him. "You'll look at me when I speak to you, bitch," he snarled before shoving her head back against the metal torture rack.

Giovanni picked up the powder and moved away from his spot, allowing Bella to catch a glimpse of her love. Her eyes were blurred with tears that she had yet to blink away, but when she saw him, she couldn't fight the gasp from erupting.

Edward was on knees again, his hands cuffed to a post in front of him. And his back was dripping with blood as Luca stood behind him with a knife and carved away at his back. She watched as Luca twisted his wrist, causing the knife to go deeper. Edward let out a yell that pierced through Bella's heart. Luca stopped in annoyance, took a step back and nodded at Matthew, who had a black cane in his hands. Matthew stepped over to Edward, raised the cane, and then lowered it down swiftly, striking Edward and causing his back to arch from pain.

Bella let out a sob as she watched Matthew step back and let Luca resume. Edward tried to roll his shoulders but stopped as soon as Luca went back to work at carving up his back.

She closed her eyes as the tears burned her vision. But she opened them again when she felt something brushing the exposed skin of her under arm.

Giovanni didn't hesitate to pour plenty of water this time and Bella couldn't fight the scream that went through her. The pain was even more intense this time, mixing with the agony caused from the different inflictions.

"I do believe that's the most sensitive skin on a body," Giovanni informed her over her whimpers, a cruel smirk on his face as her flesh sizzled away. Bella barked out a sob as she heard the delicate skin burn away. Giovanni eventually rolled his eyes and wiped at the reaction with the cloth, though it did little to relieve the sensation.

Bella squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the pain. She opened them when she felt another sensation on her body.

It was more powder.

Bella tensed as Giovanni began to dump even more liberal amounts onto her skin. This time, he was pouring it on her chest, in between and around her breasts. He scoffed as she began to shake in fear.

"We'll try it again, shall we?" he said, setting down the powder and picking up the water.

But before he could begin, they were interrupted.

"Sir!" a man exclaimed, bursting into the room with another man following behind him. "Our entrances have been breeched!"

"What?" Roman demanded angrily.

"Sir, it's the SWAT team. They've entered the compound."

* * *

I will see you all in a day or two.

You continue to astonish me with your investment in this story and I could not be more humbled by your responses and engagement.


	38. Chapter 37

As always, read with care for yourself, especially if you have had previous pregnancy problems.

* * *

"Oh for fuck's sake," Roman swore in annoyance. "Boys, let's go."

Giovanni opened his mouth to protest but Luca beat him to it. "Father, we can't just leave them here…alive."

"I'm not finished with them," Roman replied coldly. "Let's. Go."

Giovanni growled but put down the water and left Bella's side. Roman was barking orders. "Matthew, stay here and guard that safe with your fucking life. Dovidus, if anyone comes in here, you shoot to kill."

"Yes sir."

And then the three Brigados were swiftly retreating from the room.

The room was bathed in silence and minutes passed.

Bella's skin has stopped sizzling but she still felt as if she was on fire. The air against the burns was agony and despite the brief reprieve from the torture, her body was exhausted. Her face was swelling from where she had been struck and her scalp stung from where Giovanni had grabbed her.

She was concentrating on breathing in and out…slow and shaky.

She could hear Edward's ragged breathing and the occasional clink of a chain as he moved laboriously. Dovidus was standing with his gun at the ready, facing the door the Brigados had exited. Matthew had picked up the heavy safe and moved it to a table at the side of the room, removing it from the open.

"Edward?" Bella squeaked in a voice barely above a whisper.

The labored breathing stopped for a moment. "Swan, that's sodium hydroxide. It will react to sweat," he gasped urgently.

"Shut the fuck up!" Dovidus roared, delivering a kick to Edward's side that caused him to fall to the side, unable to hold himself up even on his knees.

Bella's breath was now coming in quick gasps as she watched Edward. She continued to try and blink back the tears as she attempted to calm down. He had warned her and she wouldn't let it go to waste.

She needed to calm down.

She felt the layer of perspiration on her forehead and it wouldn't be long before her whole body began to warm as she writhed with the pain of the burns on her.

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to calm down her breathing.

She tried to block out the excruciating pain.

She tried to imagine they were anywhere else.

"I fucking hate you, you know that?" Matthew growled.

Bella opened her eyes to see the thrice damned intern stalking over in Edward's direction.

"I never fucking wanted any of this. I was going to go and get an internship in London and get out of all of this bullshit. And instead, I was ordered to spy on your ass!" he hissed hatefully. "And you had to cross Uncle Roman. You had to be on Carlisle fucking Cullen's side. You had to betray this family and drag me even deeper into all of this shit. I fucking hate you both."

"Romero," Dovidus muttered warningly.

"Shut up," Matthew growled back, clearly having some authority over him by means of familial relationship to Roman.

"I never had a choice," Matthew continued, growing more and more hysterical as he looked down at Edward who had feebly returned to his knees.

"There's always a choice," Edward muttered so lowly Bella had to strain to hear him. "Is this yours?"

All of the sudden, Dovidus collapsed to the ground.

Bella's eyes widened and she watched as both Edward and Matthew whipped their heads around. Bella strained against the cuffs restraining her, trying to see what they were looking at. With a look of bewilderment, Matthew pulled his gun out of the holster on his chest. Before he could even remove the safety and lift the weapon into place, he collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"Edwar-"

"Shhh!"

Bella looked over to a different door in the compound that had been cracked open. Emmett fucking McCarthy was pushing the door to open wider and was creeping through the entrance lowering his high tech bow that he had been shooting earlier.

"Oh my God," Bella breathed, all of the air escaping from her lungs as her head fell back against the rack. Tears sprung to her eyes as her entire body quivered in relief.

"Jesus Masen," Emmett muttered, running across the room to where Edward was chained to the makeshift whipping post and dripping with blood.

"Get her first," Edward rasped.

Emmett froze before turning and making his way over to Bella. "Oh fuck," he swore.

"Hi Emmett," Bella cried, her entire face twisting as she was unable to fight the tears.

"Bells," Emmett exclaimed softly.

He got to work quickly. The cuffs that had her restrained weren't locked, they were only fastened like a belt. He started at her ankles and hurriedly undid the bindings. As soon as they were released she was moving her legs, which were stiff from being in that position for who knows how long. Emmett moved over above her head and worked to free her arms as well. She was about to move to sit up when she was stopped.

"Get the lye off," Edward rasped.

"The wha?" Emmett asked before noticing all of the stuff covering Bella's naked body. "Oh fuck!"

Emmett grabbed at the white cloth and was about to wipe it off her when the both of them realized how completely naked she was. Emmett gave her the cloth and then hurriedly turned his body and shrugged out of his suit coat. Bella wiped the substance off of her body and saw how burnt her flesh was from Giovanni.

"Here you go Bells," he said, handing her his suit jacket. She gratefully took it and slipped her arms into it, even though she was absolutely swimming in the garment. She ignored the burning sensation as the fabric rubbed against the raw burns. She saw that under the jacket, Emmett had a bullet proof vest on.

"You get Edward. I'm going to make sure they're dead."

Bella nodded. Emmett gave her a hand and helped her jump off of the torture rack that had been holding her captive. He didn't let go of her hand immediately, which was fortunate as she stumbled under the weight of her legs again. But she let go of his hand and rushed to Edward, collapsing on the ground next to him.

"Oh Edward," she breathed.

His back was shredded. Between Luca's knife and Matthew's cane, it was worse than she had ever seen. And beneath all of the blood dripping out of the open wounds, she saw that Luca had carved a crude B into the center of his upper back, right between his shoulder blades.

"I'm so so sorry," she whimpered.

He was leaning forward, almost in child's pose, his head hanging between his arms which were still cuffed and chained to the post. With shaky hands she moved to the cuffs that were holding him hostage and hurriedly undid them, letting them and the chain drop to the ground while she held him up with a hand on his shoulder.

"Swan," he murmured as he held himself up. Their eyes met and Bella was overwhelmed as Edward lifted his hand shakily up to her face.

"There's my girl," he breathed, pulling her tightly against his chest in a strong embrace. "My warrior of a girl," he murmured affectionately against her hair as he cupped the back of her head and she let the tears flow out of her eyes.

He rocked her just slightly as she cried into his blood-smeared bare chest.

"I am so sorry, Swan."

"You are so brave. I am so sorry," he kept repeating in a whispering as he clung to her. She didn't know what he was apologizing for, but he softly continued, "I'm so sorry, Bella."

"Roger that, Seth."

Bella quieted down as she heard Emmett speak. Edward ceased his apologizing but did not loosen his hold on her. He placed a kiss on the side of her head before looking up. Bella lifted her head away from him and looked up at Emmett who had a grim expression on his face.

"We gotta go, Luca is on the move."

They weren't out of it yet. She was in his arms, but they were still in danger.

"Is the SWAT team actually here?" Bella asked as she hesitantly moved away from Edward. Emmett held out the white dress shirt that had been ripped off of Edward's body earlier. Edward took it with a nod and started to put it on, a process that was slow and judging by his winces, incredibly painful.

"Yes," Emmett answered. "You know the contact Wilder left Carlisle? He's now the Director of Homeland Security."

Bella's mouth fell open.

"No shit?"

Emmett nodded solemnly. "Carlisle contacted him as soon as neither of you answered your phone. He didn't really believe what we were saying and at first we were worried that he was in the Brigado's pocket too, but eventually he agreed to investigate."

Both Edward and Bella were looking at Emmett with raised eyebrows.

"When we told him that we strongly suspected you were in trouble, he agreed to send in the SWAT team. But there isn't very many of them and we weren't going to let them go in blind. Carlisle remembered reading your notes and remembered you writing the code to get in here. Seth found a way to hack into Luca's phone, so we know where he is. The SWAT guys are distracting them and Jasper and I are getting you."

Emmett stopped then and listened and Bella saw that he an ear piece. His face turned into a scowl as he listened and nodded. "Let's get out that way. Jasper is at the entrance."

"How did you know we were here?" Bella asked, standing up with Edward.

"Alice."

"What?" Edward exclaimed.

"Romero sent in his resignation a couple days ago, before all of the shit went down. And something about it didn't seem right, so she looked into him and found that he was distantly related to the Brigado's. Carlisle had to fill her and Rose in then. Seth was able to hack into his phone and we just hoped like hell that you were where he was."

As Emmett spoke, he handed Edward the gun that had been in Dovidus' hands. He also handed Bella a smaller one that he had pulled from Matthew's body. Bella checked the chamber and saw that it was fully loaded.

"You will tell us everything later," Edward said impatiently after he checked the chamber as well. "Let's get out of here."

Bella remembered what Luca had threatened her with to get in her in the car in the first place. "Emmett!" she cried. "Rose, Alice, and Esme aren't still at Rose's, right?"

Emmett looked at her in confusion. "No, they're with Seth and Carlisle and the director at headquarters."

Bella sagged in relief and she let out a breath. "Good."

"Let's go," Edward nodded.

The three of them crept quietly out of the room. Emmett had his bow in his hands and was leading the charge with Bella in the middle and Edward bringing up the rear, gun at the ready. As they exited through the door that Emmett had came in, they moved their feet even softer.

The door led to a hallway that looked very much like the room they had just been in. Poorly lit fluorescent lights danced on the shining floors. They passed several closed doors before taking a right when the hallway formed a T. Emmett seemed to know where he was going and Edward did too, based on the way in which he was easily following. Bella kept glancing over her shoulder to make sure no one was behind them. Edward was doing the same.

All of the sudden they heard gunfire.

The acoustics were bizarre in the underground bunker. Bella had no idea where the noise was coming from. Edward pushed Bella so that her back was to the nearest wall, sandwiching her between Emmett and himself as they held their breaths.

They heard one shot.

And then one more.

And then there was silence.

"Keep going," Edward ordered under his breath. Emmett nodded and they continued to creep down the hallway.

Bella's heart was pounding furiously against her chest and she was having trouble breathing. She registered the pain across her body, but it was nothing compared to the intensity of her heart thumping rapidly against her. Her stomach was knotted so tightly it felt like her entire torso was cramping.

"This place is a fucking maze," Emmett muttered, taking a left at the next T.

They heard another round of bullets being dispensed, but this time the shot sounded further away. It was enough to make all three of them freeze for a few moments before continuing down the eerie hallway.

"We're almost to the stairs," Emmett whispered as they turned again. "That's where Jasper is."

They took the last turn that led them to the doorway to the stairs and Emmett froze, causing Bella to bump into him. Before Bella could even register what was happening, there was gun fire. Emmett shoved her behind him, throwing the bow on the ground and whipping out a gun just as Bella heard a man shout, "KILL THEM!"

Bella lifted her gun as hell broke lose. Edward pushed past her, keeping her behind him as he raised his gun and began to fire, his eyes blazing as he took shot after shot. The noise was terrible as bullets met concrete and metal. The smell brushed past Bella's nostrils as she found an opening between Emmett and Edward and took her shot. There were three men in front of them with one on the ground.

"JAZZ!" Emmett hollered, leaning against the doorway to try and protect his exposed body. Edward continued to shoot across his body and Bella began to fire as well. She took several shots and intermittently ducked behind Emmett who had the bullet proof vest on.

All of the sudden the door behind them opened and Emmett stumbled back since he had been leaning against it. Bella pointed her gun in that direction and almost shot when she saw a hand toss something in the direction of the Brigado's men. Edward hurriedly threw an arm around her waist and yanked her into the open door where Emmett had fallen into. They stumbled behind him and Edward slammed the door shut once they had entered.

A loud noise accompanied an explosive thud.

Bella recognized the noise from when her car had blown up.

There was screams of pain that followed the noise. Bella ignored them as she looked around to see that they were at the base of a stair well. Jasper was standing in front of them, wearing a suit and very much looking like he belonged with the Brigados. He had his eyes closed in relief at the sight of Edward and Bella. Emmett was resting against the wall, breathing heavily. Edward was checking the chamber of his gun to see how many bullets were left and scanning the area around them to make sure they were temporarily safe.

"Come on," Jasper whispered with a nod. "We have eight flights of stairs until the parking garage."

Emmett pushed off the wall and returned Jasper's nod and began to climb the stairs. Edward and Bella followed, Edward resting a guiding hand on Bella's back as they started to cautiously walk. They had only made it up approximately six stairs when Edward cursed.

"Fuck," he hissed under his breath. "The safe."

He turned and started to head back down the stairs but Bella caught his arm. "Edward, no! Leave it!" she cried, clutching at him.

"I will be right back," he said, locking eyes with her. "Go."

Bella bit back a sob as she nodded and grabbed his face.

"I love you," she whispered.

Edward audibly swallowed. His eyes flashed with fear and adoration. "And I you," he whispered before turning placing a searing kiss on her lips and turning to leap down the stairs.

"Me, go with her!" Jasper exclaimed in a whisper, darting down the stairs after Edward before either of them could stop him. They hurriedly opened the door and dove through the cloud of smoke that had formed from whatever grenade object Jasper had tossed.

"Come on, Bells," Emmett urged quietly.

Bella wanted to follow after them. It physically hurt to not be alongside Edward, especially after everything they had just seen. She thought about following and almost took a step down before Emmett stopped her.

"You can't," Emmett hissed, grabbing her hand. "He'll be alright, he has Jazz, let's go!"

Bella let out a sob that she couldn't bite back any longer. But she nodded and let Emmett begin to pull her up the concrete stairs. Each flight had ten stairs before they would round the corner and go up another ten. Bella stumbled a few times and her body desperately wanted to collapse, but the adrenaline coursed through her and forced her to keep pushing. Her stomach was twisted so painfully that her breaths were coming in short gasps.

They had made it up only three flights when they were rounding the turn and Emmett stopped with a halt.

"Bells!" he gasped, "You're bleeding!"

She halted in her step and stumbled a couple feet and looked down before shaking her head. "I'm okay, let's go," she said, swallowing her tears.

"Did you get shot?" Emmett exclaimed insistently, holding his place firmly. "It's all over your legs."

Bella pinched her eyes shut as the tears seeped out of the corners.

"No, I-"

"Well why is there so much-"

"I think I just lost the baby," she whispered.

Emmett was looking at her in absolute horror. "The baby?"

"Come on, we have to keep going!" she pleaded hoarsely, turning to continue up the stairs as quickly as her battered body would allow.

Emmett blinked a few times before swallowing thickly.

Bella turned to glance over her shoulder. "Emmett!" she cried. Emmett blinked out of his daze before hurrying after.

They had just rounded the corner on the fifth flight when they froze at the sight in front of them.

Luca Brigado was standing at the top of the ten stairs, a gun in his hands, pointing directly down at them.

* * *

Five floors below them, Edward and Jasper had successfully navigated the maze of a hallway and were reentering the Brigado's torture chamber. They hadn't met any of Roman's men in the hallway and when they reentered the room, it was almost empty.

Jasper let out a low whistle upon seeing the torture rack and the whipping post that had Edward's blood spilled on the ground. "Fuck," he muttered, seeing the extent of the Brigado's cruelty.

The blonde eyed Edward's back with bile rising in his throat. The white dress shirt was soaked in bright red blood.

"There it is," Edward muttered, feeling momentarily light headed from all of the blood loss he had experienced in the last hour.

Jasper looked away from his back and followed Edward's gaze to where the safe was, near Matthew Romero's dead body. Edward started to move in that direction, but Jasper stopped him. "I'll get it," he said, darting in front of Edward.

Edward had his gun lifted and had just looked to his left to begin to scan the quiet room when a gun was fired.

His head whipped over in Jasper's direction just in time to see him fall to the ground as the bullet found purchase.

Edward lifted his weapon and fired as two men entered the room. He shot on automation, mindful of his rapidly dwindling supply of bullets. The first body crumbled to the ground when his bullet met his mark.

He turned to look at the second man and froze.

It was Roman Brigado with his gun pointed directly at Edward's head.

* * *

See you in a few days.

Thank you for your words and responses. Love to you all.


	39. Chapter 38

Bella was frozen.

In front of her was Luca Brigado: the heir to the single largest organized crime ring in the world. The mastermind behind one of the most expansive, global slavery trades. The man who had been torturing her love within an inch of his life.

"Going somewhere?" Luca asked, lifting an eyebrow and tilting his head.

Bella swallowed.

Her gun was at her side as she had been carelessly hurrying up the stairs. She couldn't lift it without the possibility that he would shoot before she was even able to fully raise the weapon.

Emmett was in a similar position.

Luca's lips twisted into a sinister smile.

"Father said he wasn't finished with you, but I'm pretty god damn done," Luca said, his gun still pointed unwaveringly at her.

"This is why I don't do American born," he continued with annoyance. "Almost more trouble than you're fucking worth."

Bella could not see a single way her and Emmett were getting out of this.

She swallowed again.

"I'll go with you," she offered softly.

Luca raised both eyebrows, not hiding his surprise.

"Bells," Emmett hissed. "What-"

"No," she interrupted him. She looked at Luca, attempting to appear submissive. "I'll go with you, just let him go."

Luca rolled his eyes. "No can do, sweetheart."

Bella tried again, "I'll tell you everything you want to know about Edward," she promised, her lip quivering. "I'll tell you everything, if you let him go."

Emmett was staring at her in horror.

"You're hardly in any position to be bargaining," Luca commented with a snarl.

"I'll do whatever you want. I won't run. I won't fight you," she continued pleadingly, her voice soft and contrite. "I'll do anything, just let him go."

Bella's heart was pounding in her chest as she took a step towards. She moved slowly and cautiously, not making any sudden movements that would cause him to shoot. Emmett raised his gun just a fraction of an inch and she saw Luca point the weapon in his direction.

"I'll go. I'll do anything," she repeated softly, taking another step.

Luca was glaring, but he hadn't shot yet.

"Emmett, give him your gun," she commanded softly.

That made Luca lift an eyebrow again. He leveled Bella with a hard stare.

"He'll be unarmed," she offered quietly to Luca.

"Emmett," she said again slowly. "Toss it to him."

"Do what she says."

Luca was glaring at Emmett now, his weapon still pointed at his head, finger on the trigger. Emmett breaths were slow and steady as he stared back at the mafia son.

"Alright."

Emmett moved his arm slowly. He wound it back before tossing the semi-automatic weapon into the air. The gun flew through the air, forming a steep arch and coming down above Luca.

Three shots were fired and everything went black.

* * *

Roman Brigado had his weapon trained on Edward and Edward had his own gun pointed directly at the warlord.

It was a stalemate.

Both of them knew it.

Roman's lips twisted into an amused smirk. His hair, which was usually impeccably gelled, was out of place. It was just slight, but it was the first time Edward had ever seen him without total control.

"So this is where your loyalty lies."

Edward's jaw clenched.

"The girl?" Roman asked, still appearing amused.

"Do not speak about her!" Edward felt rage surge through him that he dared even mention her. "She has nothing to do with this," he snarled.

"How long? How long have you been with Cullen?"

"Since the beginning."

Roman's smirk fell into a snarl at Edward's words.

"I was never with you, Roman," he told him coldly. "Not at the start, not through the millions of dollars you gave me, not through the cars or guns you gifted me with, not the booze, not the drugs, not through any of it."

"Then you will die the death of a traitor," Roman said with deadly calm.

Edward glared at Roman. He hadn't moved a muscle, but his finger was poised on the trigger, itching to pull. Yet he did not move. He knew he had two bullets left. If they didn't meet their mark, he would be dead in an instant.

"And when I'm finished with you, I will hunt down that Swan of yours. I will hunt her like the bitch that she is. And when I find her, I will put…her…down," he promised silkily. "But only after I've had my fill of her, as many times and in as many ways as I fucking please."

Edward growled as his fingers flexed.

"You will never touch her again."

Roman laughed. It was a chilling laugh that rang through the empty room.

"Struck a nerve did I? I knew you cared for her," he dismissed with an exaggerated eye roll. "You always were easy to read, Masen."

"So easy you allowed me access to your ranks for years?" Edward taunted. "Tell me Roman, do you know how many of your plans I have thwarted? How much information I have gotten to authorities? How much I have cost you? Do you truly know the depth of my treachery?"

Roman glared furiously at that. He lifted his revolver an inch higher and Edward watched as he squared his shoulders, ready to take his shot.

"If it was not me, it would have been someone else," Edward said lowly. "It's a truth as old as time: evil can never win over good. There will always be those that take arms against injustice, and if it would not have been Carlisle Cullen, it would have been someone else. There is no world, no scenario, no possibility, where your blatant terrorism and abuse goes unchecked. You have been doomed to fail since the beginning, and you will always be doomed to fail."

"What do you know about justice?" Roman barked with a harsh laugh. "You succeed in this world by taking what you want and if you think for one moment that-"

"He was always…" rasped Jasper, causing Roman to look over at his body.

It was all Edward needed.

He pulled the trigger.

And he fired his two bullets.

The first one pierced through his skull and the second found ripped through his chest.

Roman Brigado died in a quick death that he did not deserve. As his corpse lay in a growing pool of blood, with his eldest son simultaneously meeting his mortal coil, the Brigado empire stood without an heir.

* * *

Jasper was still breathing.

Edward had gone over to him as soon as Roman had collapsed on the ground. He saw that Jasper was breathing, albeit in short gasps. When Edward bent down over him, he saw that the gun wound had grazed his right shoulder, right over his bullet proof vest. It was bleeding more profusely that Edward was comfortable with and he was concerned a major vessel may have been nicked.

Edward swore and gave Jasper a shake.

The blonde man's eyes opened as he winced and looked around.

Edward let out a heavy breath and let his head fall backward.

"Go find Bella," Jasper rasped.

"If I thought for one minute that she would not kick my ass for leaving you, I would not presently be here, Whitlock."

Jasper closed his eyes as he rested his head against the floor, his lips turning into an amused grin.

"I am in no position to drag you," Edward warned as he stood up slowly. "So I suggest you get up."

Jasper opened his eyes to see Edward extend his hand towards him.

He took his hand and stood up, using the last of Edward's remaining strength of help get him to his feet. Edward clasped an arm around the other man's shoulder and they moved with as much speed as their battered bodies allowed.

It was a battle to make it up the stairs.

The knowledge that Roman was dead was leaving Edward sagging in relief as the adrenaline began to dissipate.

As the extra energy left his body, he grew weaker and weaker, having lost so much blood and sustained injuries to his torso from Dovidus and Matthew's cane.

It was getting harder to breathe with a sharp pain shooting through him every time he tried.

Bella was the only thing that was allowing him to continue moving forward.

He had to find her.

He had to find that tiny, insufferable woman of his.

He had to get to the mother of his unborn child.

He had to find the girl who had always put him back together.

Jasper had lost a decent amount of blood and was struggling to support himself and Edward. He was wheezing by the time they had made it up four flights of stairs and his jaw was clenched in pain. It was unclear who was dragging whom at times as they wound up the stairs, but they moved forward together.

It was a climb that neither of the men would ever forget.

As they neared the top, they saw Luca Brigado's body.

Like his father, there was a bullet that had been put through his head, leaving him to die surrounded by his blood.

It was a chilling sight by all means.

Yet Edward only felt relief that another Brigado was gone forever.

"Almost there," Jasper breathed as they turned up the last ten stairs.

Edward grunted in agreement as they crept up the final ascent, clutching each other for support. His own vision was beginning to blur and there was a searing pain in his head.

But they climbed.

And when they reached the top of stairs, they stumbled into the parking garage after Edward had punched in the 10-digit code with shaking fingers. The bunker had two entrances. The other one which led to the Brigado's weapon storage, drug shipments, and sometimes where they kept their slaves prior to auction. That's the one the SWAT team had swarmed, leaving the entrance to the other one in the parking garage less chaotic.

As they made it out of the stairway, they could immediately see the flashes of red and blue from nearby emergency vehicles. There were floodlights from a vehicle which temporarily blinded Edward as he straightened up. He lifted his free hand over his eyes to block the light so that his pupils could focus.

He had to find his girl.

"Edward!"

It was a sob, it was a plea, it was a prayer.

A small weight crashed into him and it was all over.

Bella ran to him as soon as she laid her eyes on him. She threw her arms around his neck and clung onto him.

"Swan," he whispered as he hugged her against his chest, engulfing her in his tired, weary arms.

And in that moment, in that overwhelming relief and peace, he knew what home truly felt like.

It was her.

It had always been her.

"Oh Edward," she cried as she held onto him.

Edward clutched her as if his life depended on it.

Because in many ways, it did.

She had always been the air that saved him from suffocation.

"I thought I would never see you again," Bella cried against his chest.

"I am here," he murmured into her hair. "I'm here for you. I am never going anywhere again. Never again."

That only made Bella cry harder. Edward felt his own eyes fill with exhausted tears as he buried his face in her hair and held her even tighter.

"I am here," he repeated, his voice cracking.

"I'm so sorry," she cried softly.

"Hush," he chided gently. "It's okay. It's okay. You have nothing to apologize for."

They continued to cling to each other. Nothing else in the world mattered to them. Time ceased to move when he had her against him. It was just the two of them with nothing else in the world.

When he felt a tap on his shoulder, he unwillingly lifted his head from Bella's. A paramedic was standing next to him. The middle aged woman was blinking back her tears having watched the two of them so desperately cling to one another.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt," she said. "But you need medical attention."

Edward loosened his hold on Bella and she unwound herself from him. Edward looked down at his lover and then back at the paramedic. "Tend to her first," he demanded. "She's pregnant."

The paramedic's eyes widened.

Bella let out a heavy breath and looked up at him.

"Edward," she said meekly. He looked at her and she just shook her head as her eyes filled with sorrow.

His own heart broke a thousand times at seeing the unfiltered pain in her wide eyes. His knees threatened to give out, but he held on to the smallest bit of strength to keep himself upright.

She hadn't said anything, but she had said what she needed.

"Oh Bella," he murmured, engulfing her once again against his chest. "I am so sorry, sweetheart."

The thought of the baby had shocked him and completely caught him off guard. He been preparing to flee the country when that bomb was dropped, and he had been privately frightened he wouldn't be able to keep Bella safe, much less a small, helpless human. He had reacted in anger and he had regretted it as soon as she had left the penthouse to go to the drugstore. And he knew he would regret those words until the day he died.

And now…well, now he was holding the great love of his life in his arms as she cried for the child they lost. And it took him by surprise that he shared in her sorrow, and felt the unexpected loss even deeper than he felt its unexpected surprise.

"I'm so sorry," the paramedic said softly, locking eyes with Edward. "But I really must insist you get examined."

Emmett appeared behind her, still wearing his bullet proof vest. His look was one of relief, yet his body remained tense. Edward tightened his hold on Bella as he locked eyes with Emmett. "They're taking Jasper to the hospital and you two need to come with."

Edward recognized that they were not out of the woods yet. Roman and his son were dead, but much of his army of thugs was in the middle of a war with the SWAT team down below. Jasper and Emmett had planned to get Bella and Edward and then get the hell out while the people that were trained to handle it did.

Bella and Edward followed Emmett and the paramedic. The two moved quickly before realizing that Edward could not move fast. His breathing was labored and he winced every time he inhaled. Bella held onto his hand, her own body threatening to collapse as well. Edward clenched his jaw and squared his shoulders as they moved to the nearest ambulance on the other side of the parking garage.

* * *

Edward refused to let her out of his sight.

Once it was clear from the EMT that she had no technically life threatening injuries, he demanded that he not be separated from her, even if for a moment. When they had gotten to the hospital, the doctors attempted to take him to a trauma room along with Jasper but after a few growls from him and some muttered explanations from the EMTs, the doctor had eyed him and Bella and eventually let out a sigh and ordered them to be taken to a double room.

Neither of their injuries had been fatal, though they did need several plastic surgeons to stich up Edward's back and tend to Bella's burns. He had gritted his teeth as they worked at stitching him back together, but his sharp gaze never left Bella's as they treated the half dozen burns scattered around her.

They would scar. He knew this and each of the plastic surgeons knew it. And while they were in places that would be hidden by most items of clothing, she would have them with her.

As would he.

An obstetrician came to see her and after a brief physical examination and an analysis of her blood work, he confirmed that she had been pregnant and had lost the baby.

Bella had received the news like the warrior that she was, her chin raised bravely as she listened and then thanked him. However, Edward didn't miss the quiver of her lips as the doctor turned to leave.

"Can we finish this in a moment?" Edward asked the remaining surgeon who was standing behind him.

The surgeon, who had heard his colleague, looked down at Edward's back and then over at Bella and nodded. "Take it easy," he said softly before nodding at the remaining nurse to exit the room with him.

Edward pushed himself off of the bed, squashing his irritation at all of the wires and needles hooked to him which were monitoring his breathing and replenishing his blood. He cautiously sat down next to Bella on her small hospital bed and wordlessly pulled her into his chest, mindful of both of their injuries but not caring.

"I need you to hold onto me," she whimpered as she accepted his comfort and leaned into him. In a small voice, she cried, "I'm just a little unsteady."

Edward held her as forcefully as he dared, fiercely determined to give her the comfort she had unwaveringly given him time and time again. And he would not let go.

She had done her best to be brave.

She had tried to be courageous in the most terrifying situation she had ever found herself in.

She had tried to keep it all together.

She had done all she could to resist her emotions and get through it.

And now that they were through it, she couldn't hold back the sobs that wracked through her.

Edward knew this all and held her silently until she cried herself to sleep only moments later. The strength with which he was clutching her to him betrayed his own courage, as he felt all that she did and some. He brushed some of the hair away from her face which was already beginning to bruise from where Roman had struck her. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and rested his own against hers.

A nurse hesitantly poked her head back in and gave him a kind smile. Years of spying had made Edward suspicious and untrusting, but he grudgingly laid Bella against her pillows and allowed her to bandage up the sutures on his back as he held still.

By the time she finished and changed his IV, Edward was feeling his own exhaustion start to overtake him once again, but he fought the urge to sleep. As the nurse left, another face entered the room and Edward was greeted by the gentle, teary smile of Esme Cullen.

The matriarch of Bella's haphazardly thrown together family looked at Bella's sleeping form and let out a sigh that was filled with relief and sadness. Edward eyed her warily as she then turned her gaze onto him. Despite what Bella thought, he had always tolerated the older woman, powerless to resist her determined empathy and compassion.

Instead of going straight to Bella's side as would have been expected, she crossed through the room with tears in her eyes. Edward was shocked speechless when she bravely reached her arms out and embraced him both with such gentleness and utter strength.

"I'm so glad you're alright," she whispered, ignoring the way his entire body had tensed at the unexpected contact. His throat tightened uncomfortably as he was powerless to resist her maternal hug.

It had been a long time since he had been embraced by a mother.

And he was so tired.

His body was clinging onto the last bit of strength he could muster.

But he was so tired.

Esme could sense this as she continued to hold onto the man who had every reason to be broken but had managed to stay whole and do the impossible. She hugged him with pride, admiration, relief, gratitude and affection that he couldn't force her not to have. Bella truly was her daughter in her mind, and the man next to her had done everything he could to protect her girl and she would always be grateful.

As she settled down on the bed next to him, Edward tried to move away from her but she simply took his nearest hand in hers and held onto it tightly.

And if he didn't know better, he would have sworn Bella really was Esme's daughter. They both had unrivaled levels of compassion in their hearts, compassion which they were determined to always give him whether he wanted it or not.

"You got them all out safely," she murmured, her eyes still watering with tears. "You did it, Edward."

Edward said nothing at her soft words, but she felt his shoulders droop as he released a heavy breath.

Esme wiped at a tear that had snuck out of one of her eyes.

"I would really, _really_ like for you two to come and stay with Carlisle and I for awhile," she said quietly, her gaze entirely earnest.

Edward was shaking his head before she had even finished her sentence.

"I know you and Carlisle hav-"

"It is not that," he interrupted her with a low voice. "And we… _I_ do appreciate the offer."

Esme watched as Edward's head turned in the direction of where Bella slept in the bed behind them, the machine monitoring her heart making a soothing and steady beeping noise. She watched as his eyes so adoringly lingered on her form and she knew.

"But you're leaving."

It wasn't a question.

Edward let his eyes drift away from his partner back to the Cullen matriarch.

"We're leaving."

"Why? Edward, they're dea-"

"They're dead. But until I can be sure that the Brigado empire has died with its leaders…" he paused and shook his head. "I am not taking any more chances. Not with her."

Esme felt her heart simultaneously break and swell. She would miss both of them, and she knew it wouldn't be a short duration they were gone. But she felt the familiar maternal warmth knowing that they would have each other and that was the most important thing that both of them needed.

"We will miss you," she said gently.

Edward almost scoffed, but stopped himself. Esme caught the motion though.

"We all will, Edward," she said, just as gently. "Both of you."

Edward tried to swallow, but found the motion surprisingly uncomfortable as his throat was constricting in an unfamiliar way.

"You know, Jasper was just asking about you before they took him into the operating room," she said softly. "One of the nurses asked who Edward was, and without missing a beat, that boy told her: 'He's the God damn most courageous man I've ever met.'"

* * *

thank you all for your outpouring of love and support. I do so hope this chapter has been worth the (potentially agonizing) wait. I loved getting to be in Edward's mind for this one because he just writes himself. Example given below.

" _And in that moment, in that overwhelming relief and peace, he knew what home truly felt like._

 _It was her._

 _It had always been her._ "

We've still got some story left to tell and there's a hint about what's in their future back in Chapter 31...

See you next time.


	40. Chapter 39

Their new life began the next morning.

The doctors cleared both Bella and Edward to be released from the hospital, though they did seem reluctant to do so. In the early hours of the dawn, they left Chicago.

Their farewells were said in the morning darkness, crowded in Jasper's hospital room, where he was recovering well from the surgery. Bella's goodbyes to her friends were emotionally charged, yet surprisingly quiet. They didn't ask where the two of them were going, only hugged her as tightly as they dared.

Esme was the only one who managed to hug Edward.

Though she was not the only one who had tried.

Carlisle and Emmett settled for handshakes, seemingly as emotionally charged as their goodbyes with Bella. Jasper had likewise given the man he owed his life to a handshake. However, Edward similarly owed him his life and the two shared a hug that was so brief but so sure that Bella blinked back tears upon seeing it. She would never know the full extent of what passed in their escape.

Alice had given Bella a tight hug and then quietly pulled Edward aside. In the past two days, Alice had learned everything about him and knew he had saved her husband. Bella could not hear what she was whispering to Edward but he did not look angry. Tried and wary, perhaps, but not angry. Alice also settled for a hand squeeze when she saw him flinch when it was clear she was about to try and hug him.

Rosalie gave him a nod and smile and genuine well wishes, "You've done enough, we'll take it from here."

Edward had nodded and wished her luck in return; they had an uphill battle ahead to deal with the fallout of the ISC/SWAT raid –which needed to remain relatively classified- and salvage Cullen Consulting.

They would also be taking Bella's cat, Harold.

Bella was slightly heartbroken about that. Edward was absolutely not.

"We will be here," Carlisle had told Bella quietly when he hugged her. "You can always come home."

They arrived at a small airport where they took Cullen Consulting's plane all the way to Heathrow London. Once Bella had nodded off on the plush coach with her feet resting in Edward's lap, he allowed himself to close his own eyes. They both slept for the duration of the flight.

After they arrived at one of the world's busiest airport, Edward took the lead and Bella followed without saying much. Both of them were tired, but it was a type of tired that wouldn't be fixed with one good night of sleep. And each of them saw that in each other's eyes, and remained quiet as they traveled to a new part of the world.

They bought standby tickets from the airline counter. Bella watched as he handed over their passports and few hundred pounds to pay for the tickets. The worker scanned their passports and then handed them back to Edward with their tickets and a bright smile. "Enjoy your trip, Mr. and Mrs. Williams."

Edward had nodded at her and then turned to rest his hand on Bella's lower back as they moved towards security. "Williams?" Bella asked in a low murmur.

"Just a precaution," he intoned lowly back.

They eventually boarded a flight from London to Edinburgh, Scotland.

The two of them then hopped on a train headed to the northern part of the country. Because of the time change and the brief layover, they were on the last train of the night and by the time they got to their destination, it was nearing midnight. It was a public train, but they had bought first class fares, so their car was almost completely empty, save for an older couple who were quietly reading newspapers.

And when they got to their destination, there was a car waiting for them outside of the train station. Bella raised her eyebrows at Edward, but he just gave her a nod, imploring her to trust him.

Which of course she did.

How could she not?

"Good evening, sir. Straight to the air field then?"

"Yes, that will be fine, Ed."

It soon became apparent that the man was a pilot. Edward and him spoke lowly in the front seat while Bella tried to take in her new surroundings. Unfortunately, it was so late in the night that she didn't see much. But as a Chicago native, not seeing much most definitely meant that she was in a new place.

They drove to a small airfield and she convinced her tired limbs to follow Edward into the small four passenger plane. She tried to pay attention as the two of them discussed the flight pattern and the conditions. Edward seemed to be an effective co-pilot and she watched as he expertly flipped a few knobs and read some of the gauge numbers to Ed.

The flight was enough to wake Bella up. She felt a rush as the small plane soared through the night sky, staying only briefly over land before they began to fly over the sea. She wasn't sure how long they would be in the air, but it didn't look like they were flying towards a particularly big settlement. In fact, as they neared a small cluster of lights on the horizon, she was relatively sure it was a particularly small settlement.

Once they had landed near the small city and deplaned, Edward took her hand in his. It was much too cold and she was starting to really hit a wall, but at his contact, she softened. Edward thanked Ed briefly and then the two of them walked away from the tiny airstrip and headed towards the sea. It was about a half a mile walk until they reached a dock that had a large boat that seemed a combination of a speed boat and a fishing boat.

Bella eyed it warily.

Edward squeezed her hand. "Almost there."

"I should certainly hope so," she muttered tiredly.

Edward squeezed her hand and give her a small grin that seemed to be laced with pride at the snark she had mustered up.

He helped her onto the boat and immediately into the hull where there was the steering wheel and a round couch, shielded from the elements. Edward got her on the couch and under a thick blanket that was resting on the couch. She could feel that her body was shivering from the cold, but did her best to ignore it as he untied the boat from the dock and got behind the wheel.

The ride was choppy and as they hit waves, Bella got jostled around. She was fully aware that she looked absurd, wrapped in a blanket with her knees tucked to her chest, trying to stay upright as she got bumped around. After one particularly big wave, Bella couldn't help the giggle that slipped out of her mouth as she got knocked to the side.

Edward glanced over at her, his lips quirking up at the sight.

Eventually, Edward began to slow the boat. They kept slowing down until Edward expertly maneuvered into a boat landing and the boat came to a complete stop.

"Edward, where are we?" Bella finally asked as he offered her his hand.

With the hand that was not holding hers, Edward nervously ran his fingers through his uncharacteristically unruly hair. "Scotland?" he tried.

"Edward," she deadpanned.

"We're in the highlands," he added as they started to walk off of the boat, both of them moving slower than normal.

"That wasn't exactly land that we were on," Bella mumbled as they emerged from the hull into the night air. She was immediately embraced by the sound and smell of the sea. Her pupils widened to accommodate the lack of light as she took in her new surroundings.

Lots of water. Very little land.

Across the patch of land in front of them was a stone building – bigger than a cottage but not grandiose by any means. And nothing else.

"Edward?" she asked, staring at the one house. "Did yo-"

"Buy you this island?" he finished with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you?" she asked with wide eyes.

"No."

Her shoulders relaxed fractionally.

"I bought you this _archipelago_."

Bella propped an arm against her chest and let her hand fall into her face.

"You bought an island in Scotland."

"Swan, I just told you I bought you an archipelago."

Bella lifted her head away from her hand and dropped it to her side, turning to gap at him.

With a smirk, Edward leaned over and tapped her jaw closed. "It was on sale for far cheaper than one in the tropics."

Bella closed her mouth and swallowed before replying, "That's because there's more sheep in Scotland than people."

"Exactly," he said. "Come on, let's get inside. You still have some healing to do."

* * *

They had been in Scotland for a couple weeks, and the bags under his eyes had become pronounced. His body had been heavily abused that night, and he had been driving himself crazy making sure they were safe on their little island. They were in the northwest highlands where the population was technically zero in their area, since they had not officially registered with the government. Yet despite that, he had been running himself ragged ensuring it was secure.

And while she loved Scotland and the rugged, untouched terrain that surrounded them, she had not exactly settled in. The past couple of weeks had been riddled with nightmares, sleepless nights, and the two warring between bickering due to their exhaustion getting the best of them or clinging onto one another and never wanting to let go.

Days crawled by, but it felt like only yesterday that she had been back in Edward's penthouse in Chicago.

Time worked in funny ways, it turned out.

It felt like they were on the very tip of the world up there. Bella hadn't seen a person that wasn't Edward since their pilot, Ed. She didn't have a cell phone, so in some ways, it was easier than not to forget that the outside world existed, somewhere in what felt like a past life. While their almost island (there was a small land bridge that was not suitable for cars and well fenced in) had nine other cottages on it, Edward had bought all of the property, ensuring the small white houses littering their 1.6 miles of land were unoccupied.

But after that night, and after all that they had been through the past few months, it wasn't an unwelcome bubble that they were in.

It was a few weeks before they ventured to mainland Scotland. They had been cooped up for too long and it was making them both on edge. Edward reasoned that while they were not using their real names and they were quite content in their solitude, they were not technically in hiding and did need provisions.

Besides, Christmas was days away and Scotland was known for it's Christmas Markets. They took the train to Aberdeen and although it was nothing at all like Chicago in terms of size and activity, Bella still felt intimidated being around so many people. Edward too was on edge and kept one hand on her lower back and the other at his waist, hovering near his gun. It was well concealed, given its contraband status in the United Kingdom.

They spent the morning updating their wardrobe in preparation for Scotland's winters. While they had some clothes in their cottage, they needed a lot more wool to be prepared for the colder weather. Edward also purchased a tablet, after speaking lowly with the clerk for about ten minutes. They briefly wandered through the market, and Bella bought a few homemade Christmas treats but both of them knew her heart wasn't in it. She was on edge and wary, especially being around so many people. They grabbed lunch in a crowded pub and then mutually decided to head back to their island and get away from the small crowds of people.

"Well…that was a bust," Bella murmured self-deprecatingly as they boarded the train to return to the isles.

"Swan, at my absolute best I do not like being around people. I am hardly going to lament you realizing my wisdom on that matter."

Bella let out an amused snort.

Seeing her eyes dance for the first time all day made him smile.

Later that night, Bella was curled up in a new giant sweater and fleece leggings, having a dram of whisky (which they had also stocked up on). She had her hand on her stomach, her fingers absentmindedly brushing against the bandage that was still covering one of the burns from Giovanni. She tended to them morning and night, trying in vain to prevent the scars that were certainly forming.

She looked into the room when Edward walked in with the new tablet in his hands.

The smile of greeting on her lips faded when she saw the tense look on his face. It was a clear indication that something was wrong; she only saw that particular look when it was related to that God damn family.

"What's wrong?" she asked in concern.

Edward didn't answer immediately. Instead, he took his time sitting down on the couch next to her, his body moving slowly, like an old man.

"Giovanni is dead."

Bella didn't move. Didn't breathe.

They hadn't known. They had seen Luca and Roman were dead, the head and heir to the Brigados, but Giovanni was not to be counted out.

It had kept them awake at night, every night. Each of them had bags under their eyes from it.

Edward watched her closely, frozen as she was with her hand rested on her stomach.

"You're sure?" she finally breathed.

Edward nodded.

"I have seen the video from the body camera on the SWAT officer."

Bella slowly blew out a large breath, her heart pounding uncomfortably in her chest and her sweater suddenly too warm. She lifted the glass of Scotch to her lips and drained it with a gulp.

"I want to see."

Edward raised an eyebrow.

Bella met his gaze head on.

He stared at her for a moment before nodding and turning to the tablet.

She didn't ask how he had gotten the video or who he was in contact with. She didn't ask if they were technically in hiding, and she didn't ask what the plan was. She was with him and she trusted him. That was all she needed.

Edward held the tablet in front of her when she did not reach out to take it.

They both held their breaths as they watched the shaky video as the SWAT team entered a section of the bunker that was not that different from the one they had been in. There were six men with Giovanni and on his command, opened fire on the team with their automatic weapons.

The SWAT team was trained well and the men began to fall in the clash of bullets but Bella didn't really notice. Her eyes were locked on the dark haired man who had been destroying her skin and threatening her with a life of slavery and torture just minutes before this encounter. It was a grainy video, but she saw the exact moment that the bullet entered his skull.

He fell to the ground with a spray of blood.

Bella started blinking then as she realized her vision was blurred. She tried to blink away the tears as she realized she was crying, but she couldn't stop their onslaught. Edward sat down the tablet and wordlessly pulled her to him as she cried.

Roman and his sons were dead.

She had killed one of them.

She remembered the similar sight of Luca's blood spraying the wall behind him as the bullet she shot pierced his skull. In her gut she could still feel the terror she had when she had had to take the most important shot of her life after distracting the mobster for a millisecond.

She still felt the urge to throw up at it all.

Absentmindedly she wondered if that would ever go away.

But they couldn't hurt her or Edward ever again.

And that was enough.

* * *

A few months later, the snow began to thaw in the highlands and Bella felt herself going stir crazy.

While she was not particularly unhappy in their cottage, she felt cooped up on their island. Edward had taken up cooking as a pastime that was suitably intricate for his liking. And she liked watching him expertly handle and prepare the food. It was as soothing for her to watch him calmly chop, dice, measure, and mold things as it was for him to actually do it. But it wasn't enough for her.

So they started venturing out.

The day Bella purchased her hiking boots, she felt a giddy sense of freedom that she hadn't felt in months.

Edward had slowly begun to work out again once his back and ribs were healed enough for him to do so, and he was an excellent hiking partner. They started local, in the isles and land near them. Then they began to explore the Isle of Skye, the largest island nearby.

The air was still chilly but the terrain was breathtaking. Bella felt swallowed up in the beauty of the jagged, oddly colored green landscape. Sometimes they would speak as they hiked, but often times they would let themselves be surrounded in the quiet of nature.

And for some reason, it helped.

Each hike they did, each summit they reached, each view they took in…it helped.

It helped in a way she couldn't explain. Perhaps it was just the pleasure of being outdoors after a long time of being inside, or perhaps it was all of the nature after years in a city. Perhaps it was simply the exercise, or maybe it was the satisfaction of feet digging into the earth.

Or perhaps it was the therapy that comes with standing alongside an ocean and feeling so gloriously small.

One day, the two of them ventured to the Isle of Skye to hike the Old Man of Storr. They had hiked it once before on a cloudy day and decided to return to see the horizon dotted with isles in the sun. Since it was a sunny day, there were a few other cars in the small lot. But she thought nothing of it, excited to be in the sun and fresh air. Once their laces were knotted up and Edward had his Mountain Warehouse backpack strapped on, they started their trek to the top.

A pair of college aged guys were coming down and nodded at them in greeting about twenty minutes into their walk. "'ello!" one of them greeted cheerily. Bella gave them a polite smile in return while Edward nodded.

About an hour into their walk, they stopped to rest on a boulder and get some water. Edward had been quiet for most of the hike, but that was not unusual. Bella was content to sit quietly and take in the expanse in front of them. After a few minutes they heard thickly accented voices coming up behind them.

Bella turned her head, prepared to offer a smile in greeting when she froze.

It was couple in their thirties and they were laughing and joking as they made their way down the path. The man had dark hair that he had gelled back out of his eyes. He was clean shaven, and although he was wearing active wear rather than a suit, he looked exactly like Luca Brigado.

She couldn't move as they got closer to her and Edward.

"Hello!" the woman greeted.

Bella just stared.

Edward cleared his throat and forced a nod of greeting that satisfied the couple.

Memories of that night in the pharmacy flashed in her mind, unwelcome. Once the flood started, she was powerless to stop the images.

The pregnancy test. The Cliff bars. The fear. The fight with Edward. Rosalie, Alice, and Esme. The car. The threats. Luca.

The absolutely, pure terror she felt that night.

She was trying to heal herself…but the knowledge that that terror had swallowed her up had not left her body. It was a muscle memory that she could not even begin to understand.

Once the couple was out of hearing distance, Edward looked over at her. "Swan?" he asked lowly. "Are you alright?"

Bella blinked and jerked her head, trying to cut out the stream of memories.

"What?" she asked.

"Are you alright?" he repeated.

Bella's brows furrowed as she watched his stare go from her face to her hands. Bella followed his gaze down and realized her hands were shaking.

"Oh," she murmured, experimentally clenching her fists. They were shaking so badly that she barely could control them.

Edward knew better than to ask her if she was alright a third time.

"What do you need?" he asked quietly.

Bella crossed her arms over her stomach tightly and stood up.

Her whole body was tense and tingling and she hated it.

She hated that she was thinking back to that God forsaken night, when she had been strapped down naked, been violated and tortured, and watched the man she love be tortured in tandem.

She hated that that night existed in her conscious and she would do anything to get it out of her head.

"I just want to take it all back," she finally said angrily, staring out at the horizon as the wind blew strands of her hair around.

Edward remained where he was, waiting.

"I should never have left the apartment that night."

At that, Edward let out a breath slowly.

"I should never have let you go."

Bella's jaw clenched and she took a deep breath, willing herself to release it. Instead of replying to his comment, she continued, the words spilling out of her mouth.

"I hate that we fought that night, Edward. I fucking hate it. I hate that we yelled at each other and I hate that I left, and I fucking hate that Luca got me. I hate that I can't forget it no matter what I do. I hate that flashes…memories of that night just hit me at the most random times, every fucking day. I hate that it happened and I hate that I can't forget it."

Edward looked down at his hands, feeling wholly unworthy of the woman in front of him.

"And I hate that our baby is gone."

He looked up at her at that, but she was still staring straight ahead, tense as a board.

"Do you hate me for it?"

Bella squeezed her midsection, empty as it was.

"Not all the time," she finally admitted. "Because it was me. It was me who was stupid. Sure, you shouldn't have let me go, but I'm the one who went. So I can't fault you for the decision I made. But sometimes…sometimes, yes, I can't help it."

"Perhaps you should."

Bella was silent.

"I am sorry."

At those quiet, yet insistent words, Bella turned to face him.

"I know."

Edward was silent.

"I know," she repeated. "And that's why I can't hate you, even in my lowest of moments. Because I know you're sorry. And you have had enough to endure in a lifetime, you do not need a grudge from me for a fight we both got into. And I don't blame you. Really, I don't. I couldn't."

Despite himself, he felt some of the tension in his shoulders ease, and Bella did not miss the movement.

"But you're angry."

Bella nodded, balling her hands into fists. She felt some of the tension leaving her body, but she was still wired in a way that made her skin crawl.

"How could I not be? Aren't you? Aren't you angry about it all?"

Edward lips almost quirked up at that.

"What?" she demanded.

The hint of a smile turned immediately downward. "I am absolutely furious that they got their hands on you," he said seriously, his voice in a terrifying growl. "I will always regret that their deaths were quicker than they deserved. I could kill them ten times over for what they did to you. If they were alive right now, I would not rest until I made them suffer for their crimes against you"

Bella shivered.

"And I will _always_ be angry about it, make no mistake about that Swan," he hissed vehemently. "I will continue to see your marks and I will be furious, knowing that they dared touch you – you the greatest love of my life, you who should have been innocent in all of this, you…my greatest salvation and biggest joy. And I will always be angry at myself for what I said to you that night."

Edward stood up then and took a step towards here, his eyes locked with hers.

"But despite everything, you are here. You are here in front of me. You are with me. And you are safe."

He lifted his hand up and reverently brushed his knuckles against her cheek.

"And you are mine. You are mine you absurd, insufferable, brave, beautiful, warrior of a woman."

He kissed her forehead and then kissed her lips.

"And for that, I will always be grateful."

* * *

cheers to those of you who got the scotch hint. living in scotland has been one of the biggest joys of my life and it only made sense that the landscape and beauty of it would heal them as much as it filled my heart.

we have about five chapters left of this story. any guesses as to where these two will end up in the next couple of chapters? scotland is not the final destination...

as always, thank you for all of your kind words and love. they are so needed and appreciated.


	41. Chapter 40

" _We'll try it again, shall we?"_

Bella's eyes shot open as she awoke with a large gasp. She thrashed around in the darkness, trying to get away from the searing pain of having her flesh burned while she was tied down and powerless to resist.

Her heart was thumping in her chest as she breathed in staccato breaths, still panicked. As she looked around her, she convinced herself that she was alright. She was in her cozy bed, and Edward was asleep next to her. She felt a layer of sweat against her body. She squeezed her eyes shut in an effort to push away the dream she had just been having, which was mostly a memory of that night in the bunker with Giovanni. But as she closed her eyes, the images still flooded into her mind.

She felt so hot.

She fanned herself as she tried to return her breathing to a normal level, but the layer of sweat on the back of her neck seemed to only grow more and more oppressive.

Edward slumbered on next to her, and for that, she was glad.

It was less and less as the months passed, but nightmares still occasionally plagued him at night, and the two of them would spend most of the night tossing and turning in an effort to lose consciousness before the spring sun rose.

Usually to little avail.

Even after a couple minutes of being awake, her body would not cool down and she was too wired to be able to close her eyes again. As her heartbeat normalized, she pushed herself out of their bed and padded softly across the room, careful not to wake the man who so needed sleep. She grabbed one of the heavy, wool blankets off of the chair on her way outside. The chilly night air greeted her, but she welcomed the cold against her overheated body. She walked towards the sea, -barely a stones throw from their cottage when the tide was high- and sat down on one of the boulders near the water, letting the smell of salt air envelop her.

Bella pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders, as the cold air cooled her down and even went as far as to left her chilled from the air. Whoever said Chicago was the windy city had clearly never been to the northern point of Scotland. The winds were fierce and the rain often. It was almost always dreary outside, which served the purpose of making their three-bedroom schoolhouse turned cottage all the more inviting and all the more cozy.

"What are you doing out here?"

Bella jumped and gasped at the sound of Edward's voice.

Immediately, her heart started pounding again, just softer than the last time. She turned her head to see a sleep disheveled Edward approaching her, a thick sweater thrown over his the white shirt he slept in.

"You scared me," she replied, tightening the blanket around her.

Edward raised an eyebrow. "You scare me when I wake up and you are not there."

Immediately, Bella felt contrite. "I'm sorry," she winced.

Edward sat down on the cool rock next to her. "No apology necessary, Swan."

They each looked out at the sea. It had been raining earlier in the day, but they had been treated to calmer waters once the storm had passed.

"I'm sorry you woke up, I tried to be quiet."

Edward lazily swung his head to look over at her and then rolled his eyes. "Don't make me repeat the previous statement."

Bella's lip managed to lift only the slightest bit, which caused Edward to look more intently at her. "Are you alright?" he asked softly.

She let out a breath slowly. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Which one was it this time?"

He knew her too well.

Subconsciously, Bella rubbed at the inside of her arm which was covered by the blanket but where there was still a scar from the third degree burn she had received from Giovanni. No one had said as much to her, but she knew they would leave permanent scars in the various places on her body. And that bothered her more than she was willing to vocalize to anyone.

"The lye," she sighed.

Edward tensed, as he did every time she told him.

"I could live a hundred lifetimes and never apologize enough."

Bella sighed and let her head fall to rest on his shoulder. "I wouldn't want you to."

"Swan-"

She closed her eyes, but her words were filled with conviction. "It wasn't your fault, Edward."

"So you say-"

"And I will keep saying it for as long as you need to hear it and then some."

Edward let out a frustrated noise at her soothing tones. "I could hav-"

Bella lifted her head and boldly met his gaze. "You did everything you could. We're both alive right now. That's not just enough - that's everything."

The corner of Edward's mouth tipped upwards as he gazed at her in a mixture of sadness and wonder. "I could also live a hundred lifetimes and never understand why you think I deserve you," he whispered, reaching out to brush his fingers against her cheek.

Bella's eyes got that unmistakable glint them. "A lack of understanding about something would probably be good for that ego of yours," she teased.

Edward let out a chuckle and pulled her small form into his chest, letting himself nuzzle his nose into her hair as he affectionately murmured, "As insufferable as always, Swan."

She rolled her eyes but happily snuggled in.

"As always."

* * *

Bella bit her lip and stared at the closed door.

Edward was in the bathroom and she could hear the water gushing through the pipes overhead. He had been outside on their island, tending to the shoreline for the better part of the afternoon, taking advantage of the rare Scottish summer sun.

He was tired.

Right?

She should leave him be.

Fuck it.

Their lovemaking had been tentative for months now; gentle and tender as if they were both afraid to break the other.

She opened the bathroom door.

It was a loud squeak, one which couldn't be missed. He had to have heard her.

There went the element of surprise, but she could work with it.

She stripped out of her clothes, took a deep breath and opened the class door to the shower.

The quickest flash of surprise flashed through Edward's eyes upon seeing her, as if he hadn't dared to hope that this would be her purpose in the bathroom. As Bella's lips slid into a slow grin, his mirrored her actions, leveling her with a sensually charged smirk.

Without further ceremony, Edward pulled her into him, bringing her under the warm spray of water as his mouth crashed over hers. She gasped against his lips at the intensity of the kiss and before she knew it he had his hands on her ass and was lifting her up to press her against the shower wall.

He pulled back enough to look her in the eyes, a silent question with his raised eyebrows.

Bella answered his question by returning her lips to his.

He slid into her without hesitation while her fingers dug into his back. She wrapped her legs around his waist, urging him to quicken his pace. He pounded into her while the water cascaded around them and within minutes she cried out an ecstasy. He rested his head against the shower wall, sliding furiously in and out of her before releasing a loud groan of his own.

When he looked up at her, she was staring at him adoringly, the hint of laughter and triumph in her eyes at their first ever shower sex.

The laughter actually left her mouth when the water suddenly turned cold.

Edward let out a chuckle of his own as he leaned over her to turn of the water. He carried her out of the shower before setting her on her feet and wrapping her up in one of the fluffy towels hanging nearby. He wrapped a towel around his own waist and then leaned against the vanity.

"Come here, you."

Bella gave him a cheeky grin but took a few steps over to the vanity and let him wrap her up in his warm arms. After a happy moment passed between them, she pulled back slightly in order to better look at him.

As she moved though, she caught sight of the image in the mirror staring at her. It was her face peaking out from behind Edward's back.

His horribly scarred back.

With a start she realized she had not seen it in the pass couple of months, not in the light anyway.

Oh she had felt it certainly. She had cuddled him in the night…but thinking back to it, she had not seen his naked torso in the light in quite some time. He always slept with a shirt on in Scotland, something she figured was moreso due to the cold than anything.

Edward who had been gazing adoringly at her stiffened when he saw where her gaze had gone.

She realized he had to have been purposely hiding it from her.

For a few long moments, neither of them said anything.

"Why have you hidden it?"

She didn't know what gave her the courage to ask it.

"You do not need to see it."

There was a hardness in his tone. A hardness she easily remembered from their early days of knowing each other. A hardness that was as much a mask as anything.

Bella felt tears come to her eyes.

He kissed her scars.

He refused to let her believe they were ugly.

He told her they were a sign that she was a warrior.

He helped her accept them.

With a slow release of breath, she dropped the towel from around her.

Edward watched her with an unreadable expression. She gently took one of his hands in her own and then lead it over to trace the half dollar size scar, a few inches away from her bikini line. She then traced his fingers down to her thigh, where a similar burn was found.

"Swan," he murmured quietly.

"You have mine."

She had given her scars to him. Entrusted them in his care to heal.

He sighed. "I do not wish to remind you of that night. Of my failures."

Bella recognized the vulnerability in his admittance and took the gift.

"You are a soldier, Edward. A warrior in your own right. A knight of valor. A hero."

She rested her head gently against his bicep and looked at the pink lines that crossed all over his back, which would eventually fade to white, but would never go away.

"Those lines are the mark of your bravery. They are the physical proof of your courage. They are you and they are beautiful."

At that, Edward scoffed.

"They are not beautiful," he said bitterly. "They are a mark of failure."

Bella let out a sigh. But then she shook her head and gave his hand a tug. Edward eyed her warily as she attempted to pull him away from the vanity but eventually allowed her to stand him up. Wordlessly, she gently urged his shoulder so that he was turned to face the mirror, his back to her. His body put up some resistance but allowed eventually he allowed her to turn him.

"They are a sign that you are alive and that you are healing. That is the most beautiful thing in the world to me."

And then, she began to press her lips to the small, rope like scars.

She oh so gently kissed every inch of mangled tissue on his back, just as she had done almost a year before, in the bathtub of his penthouse after Giovanni had beat him.

It was in that bathtub when Edward realized he was in love with the woman who he found insufferable.

It was with those kisses that he had realized he would move heaven and earth to see her safe and happy.

It was then as it was now that he knew he was saved.

* * *

Months had passed and the two had settled into a routine.

Back in the spring, Bella had started to want more than hiking and hiding. So two laptops were purchased and registered to Kevin and Anne Williams with a VPN that operated as if they were in New York City.

Bella started work on an online Master's in Business Administration degree and Edward did only God knew what.

Even though they had regular internet access, Bella stayed off all social media sites and had not made contact with any of her friends.

Although their absence corresponded with a mid term election cycle, which was enough to peak both of their interests.

"Did you see this?" Bella had asked Edward from the table. "The governor, the mayor, one of the senators, and three congressmen all lost their re-election bids."

Edward had raised his eyebrows at her and pushed away from the table, coming to lean over her shoulder. "They were all connected to the Brigados."

While Bella had known the mayor had turned a blind eye for years to all of the crime and killing, she hadn't realized how deep their infiltration was. "Was Roman buying them all elections wins in exchange for them not prosecuting his family?" she asked.

Edward's eyes tightened but he nodded as he continued to stare at the results.

"The newly elected officials are all committed to bringing down Chicago's crime rate," Bella commented, reading from the article before looking up at Edward. "Which means that it will be difficult for any remnants of the Brigado's to grow stronger again."

Edward's brow furrowed but upon looking at Bella's earnest gaze, his expression softened. Instead of answering, he leaned down to place a gentle kiss on her temple before returning to his own work, which left Bella decidedly unsettled.

In the meantime, the nightmares had drastically slowed in frequency but not lessened in intensity. Some nights, both of them would be unable to sleep, and by 3 am, they would wander out to the small living room and make a fire in store fireplace. It was here that they started their Fireside Chats, as Bella mentally referred to them as.

Tonight was one of those nights.

Edward's back was bothering him. He had been moving rocks and boulders around their island last week and he had done something to irritate it. Bella laid still next to Edward and listening to his tossing and turning, feeling her mind wander and flip just as his body was. By around 2 am, Edward let out a frustrated sigh.

"Time for a fire?" Bella sighed in a whisper.

"Damn," Edward muttered. "I had hoped you were asleep, Swan."

"Not tonight," she replied ruefully.

"Then indeed. Time for a fire."

Bella made two mugs of peppermint tea while Edward stoked the fireplace and got a warm fire spreading a soft light throughout the otherwise dark space. They settled into the couch in front of the fire together, Bella sitting with her side leaning against the back of the couch, one hand propping her head up to look over at him, the other one resting on her stomach.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Edward looked over at her with a smirk. "I assume you will anyway." Bella gave him a small grin in return. "So you may, as long as I can ask one in return."

She nodded.

"Then by all means," he gestured with an open palm before resting it on her leg.

"What is our financial situation?" she finally asked. "And do I have any way of accessing my accounts?"

"That was two questions, Swan."

Bella rolled her eyes.

"Edward."

The man in question lifted his warm beverage to his mouth and took his time taking a drink before he returned his gaze to hers.

"My net worth is around 100 million. The life insurance policy from my mother was large and I invested all of it once Henry died, 12 years ago. And then with what Carlisle paid me, most of which has been invested into stocks and real estate around the world, we can live comfortably for a very long time without working."

Bella swallowed her suddenly dry throat. She hadn't realized.

"What about the money from the Brigados?" she asked nonchalantly, noticing that he hadn't mentioned it.

"That's a third, Swan."

"You can have three then," she dismissed.

Edward smirked. "I hardly need three. You're not that mysterious of a person."

"Excuse you," Bella replied in playful hurt.

Edward reached over and pulled her into his side as he asked, "Excuse me? What do you mean excuse me?" making Bella giggle as he cuddled her against him. He smiled in satisfaction at the delightful noise that she didn't make enough of in his opinion

"I have been meaning to talk to you about that money actually," Edward said evenly as he settled with her next to him. "I want to open an investment firm."

Bella froze and looked at him in surprise.

"Really?" she asked in confusion. She had assumed he wanted to stay away from Corporate America for a long time after everything that had happened.

"For women in low income countries."

Bella melted as she gave him a bright smile. Edward was powerless not to return her grin before letting it fall as he looked back over at the fire.

"I do not want their money. Their trafficking victims were from impoverished nations; they were largely women and children that lived in poverty and had no way out, and no one to care…no one to make noise or have the ability to do something when they went missing. All of that money should go back to them."

"Investing in women is the best way to fight global poverty," Bella said excitedly. "With education and support, they will be able to improve their economic standing and protect and provide for their families, giving them greater access to education and support which could lift entire generations out of poverty."

Edward reached out to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. "Precisely."

"You're going to invest the capital with little to no interest rates and then act as a consultant for the businesses when necessary?"

He nodded.

Bella leaned over and kissed him on the lips. He could feel her excitement and had to chuckle. "That's the notion I've been toying with."

"That's fantastic, Edward. Absolutely, bloody, fantastic."

Edward, who had never been one for praise, diverted with a grin. "Picking up on the local dialogue?"

"Again, you're the one who brought me to the very northern part of Britain, rather than the tropics."

Edward rolled his eyes.

"Okay, your turn," Bella conceded.

The playful glint softly faded away from his green eyes as he looked to where her hand was once again resting on her stomach. Bella followed his gaze as he spoke.

"You do that more than you ever used to."

Bella dropped her hand away.

"That's not a question," she replied quietly.

Edward's let out a soft sigh. "Why?" he asked with tender eyes.

Bella was silent in response.

"You have told me you're alright, Bella," he said gently as a way of prompting. It was rare that he used her first name, and when he did, the word was said with a gentle reverence.

"I don't know," she said quietly. "I don't know why."

Edward finally set down his mug on an end table and pulled her all of the way into his lap, where he could better hold her to him. She let out a sigh as she accepted his comfort and leaned her head against his shoulder. He was patiently silent as he waited for her.

"It's just so hard," she finally said, the words escaping her in a sigh. "It's hard to grasp that there was a thing there. A thing that was a part of you and a part of me."

"It was a baby, Edward. I became a mother when I saw those pregnancy tests, and I just have trouble grasping it all sometimes. It was a small, tiny, tiny human in me, even if it was the size of like a grain of a pebble. And I know it happens to lots of women and I know it happens often, but I couldn't protect it."

Bella continued with a bit of a shrug. "And I know it was a surprise, and I know you were angry and hurt, and I know you don't want kids but I ju-"

Edward cut her off with a shush, pulling her into his chest.

"It is not your fault, Swan," he murmured firmly. "My God, it is not your fault."

"I know," she said with enough confidence that a lesser man would have let it go. "And that's what the doctor said, but I coul-"

"Could not have done anything more," he finished for her. "It happens in a staggering number of pregnancies. You went through a traumatic night, Bella. It is not your fault."

Bella sighed as she listened to the steady sound of his heart. Logically, she knew and understood everything he was saying. And she had come to grips with that in the preceding months. But her heart didn't always know how to do logic.

"It was bad timing and I know that, and I must have missed a pill, and I shouldn't have been careless. But Edward…I've always wanted to be a mother. And I was for just so short of a time and then it was gone. And I know," she broke off as she blinked back the moisture in her eyes, "and I know you don't want to be a father but-"

Edward swallowed uncomfortably, hating that he was powerless to stop her suffering, but knowing there was something he could say to take away some of the pain.

"It's never been that I do not want children, Bella," he said gently.

Bella looked up at him in surprise, the rims of her wide eyes glistening. He gently brushed his thumb over her cheek.

"I will not lie: I do not have as natural and abundant of affections for them as you seem to with everything, that's true. But it is that I've never been able to consider bringing children into a world where the Brigados exist."

"Really?" Bella asked in a small voice, holding her breath.

Edward couldn't help but kiss her nose. "Really."

"Grieve for this loss, sweetheart and I will too. But please do not grieve your chance at motherhood."

Bella melted into him as her eyes began to dry up.

Edward kissed her forehead and pulled away to see a smile on her lips. "There's my girl," he whispered with a pleased quirk of his lips.

"I didn't mean to get into this conversation," she apologized.

"Never apologize for that," he admonished. "Swan, someone would have to be blind not to see how much caring for people is essential to your being. Do not apologize for having a big heart and putting others in it, and wanting to put more. Your caring and how determinedly you care makes you the only woman in the world I would consider parenting with."

Bella's eyes started to water once again at his tender words, but this time she blinked them away and smiled up at him. He stroked her cheek adoringly.

"But first, let others make this world safe from the Brigados. Let them prosecute all of those who remain and make sure they will never be a threat to anyone again. Let them make it safe for any small humans of yours."

"And yours," she said, but there was still question in her voice.

"And mine," he agreed.

Bella gave him a brilliant smile and he wondered not for the first time what he had ever done to deserve her.

"But until then, I promise to take you to places we have never seen before, see sites we have only read about, and try foods with names we can't pronounce. Until then, I promise to show you this world, Swan."

* * *

cheers to 2017. writing this story and being fortunate enough to have to read by all of you was genuinely a high point of this wonderful year.

thank you for your time and your generosity in reading this. it truly means the world to me.

three chapters and an epilogue left.


	42. Chapter 41

They stayed on their island in Scotland for far longer than either of them expected, but their time there was something Bella would cherish for the rest of her life. Bella kept up with her coursework for her online degree and Edward was busy getting his venture capital project opened in Malawi. They would occasionally take the boat to mainland during their time there, they explored the highlands and all of their rugged, untouched beauty. Neither of them had ever seen terrain quite so aggressive and quite so stunning, and it healed both of them to be swallowed up in the lands of Scotland.

It felt like they were the only two people in the universe at times, and that was exactly what they needed.

Sometime after being in the highlands, the tension that seemed to have been a permanent feature of Edward's physique began to dissipate, little by little.

Edward's entire life in Chicago had been one of constant danger and high stress situations, something that had only doubled in intensity when Bella had come into his life. Even before he began work in Cullen Consulting, life had never been easy for him. He carried the weight of his beginning, and his mother's death. And then when Edward lost his brother, the one person he had left in the world, he retreated fully into the nasty person that all of his coworkers thought he was.

But with Bella, life got easier.

The two of them healed each other, with no interference. The experience and the nightmares that followed had stripped them bare, which allowed them to weave their roots and begin to grow together.

Nightmares began to fade and wounds began to heal and become scars, ones which would never fully go away. As the insomnia lessened its hold on both of them, their late nights turned early mornings in front of the fire remained a staple. They went through copious amounts of both Scotch and firewood, taking down any barrier between them brick by brick as they shared memories, dreams, and desires in that cottage.

Neither of them thought it possible, but with each passing day, they wrapped themselves even tighter in love.

* * *

Hey dear,

I'm sorry I suck at this whole correspondence thing…we've been so busy with Anna Marie's that I haven't had a moment these past few weeks (check out the article in TIME, a lot of it is about the ISC, but really awesome to be getting the recognition so early). Emmett is still at the firm, and things have finally calmed down there. He really likes the new CEO, say he reminds him of Energizer Bunny. I met him at a golf tournament the other day, and I'm pretty sure the man has at least 8 cups of coffee a day. But it sounds like everyone is starting to warm up to him, since the man is so damn enthusiastic.

Carlisle is enjoying "retirement," if you could call it that. He's at Anna Marie's with Esme and I everyday and it's really been an incredible experience to work with him on this. Jasper and Alice love Seattle. Between their jobs in Microsoft and Starbucks, not sure they'll ever come back, but they say they will in awhile. Your cat has gained at least five pounds and does nothing but lounge in the sun all day. He and Emmett still get along about as well as he and Edward did. Such is life.

I hope you and Edward are loving your time wherever the hell you two are. We miss you, and we think about you all of the time.

Love you,

Rose

Excerpt from TIME:

 _Carlisle Cullen has a new venture after stepping down as CEO of Cullen Consulting last year after a series of accounting scandals that later proved to be the work of a network of hackers. Later, it was released that these hacks were an act by an organized crime group, one which made millions of dollars on the sexual exploitation of men, women, and children through modern day slavery. Cullen Consulting had been investigating the group as part of their Investigation and Specialized Crime division (which has since been sold to a private investigation firm for the price of $500 million), and the hacks were a retaliation._

 _Cullen chose to step down even after the multibillion firm was vindicated, citing his desire to spend his energies on improving the world. Anna Marie's is a foundation that is fighting to end international human trafficking and the exploitation of children through technology. The organization invests and builds software to make it easier to identity offenders and rescue victims. The foundation also provides support for victims and their families. The victims they are working with come from all over the world: Russia, India, Honduras, Ukraine, Malawi, Colombia, and right here in the United States of America. Cullen is joined in his efforts by his wife, Esme Cullen, and long time associate of Cullen Consulting, Rosalie Hale, making up the board of the foundation, along with-_

"What's got your attention?"

Bella looked up from her laptop screen as Edward leaned over her and placed a greeting kiss on top of her head. She smiled at the sight of him as he sat down in the chair next to her.

"Email from Rose," she replied, closing the computer and setting it on the table between them and folding her hands across her stomach.

Edward mirrored the motion, resting his hands over his white boat shirt which was haphazardly thrown on.

"How's Hale?" he asked, no animosity in his tone.

"She's good," Bella said, reaching over for her lemonade and taking a sip of the sweet, cool liquid. "They're all good. Looks like Jasper and Alice left Chicago and are settled in at Microsoft and Starbucks."

"What are they doing there?" he wondered.

Bella shrugged. "I think once Carlisle retired and only Emmett left there, their heart just wasn't in it anymore. Rose says they'll be back though, probably just looking for a change."

"Those will be good companies for them," Edward commented.

Bella nodded then added, "And Anna Marie's was just featured in TIME, so hopefully that'll just garner more support for them."

Edward nodded, but his gaze drifted past hers, a far away look in his eyes as he stared out to the blue horizon.

Bella gave him a moment. After all this time, she knew that Anna Marie's was still something he was uncomfortable talking about, despite being completely supportive of it he was. His own venture in Malawi was farther removed from the issue and instead worked to empower women and families to prevent the abuse of women, whereas Anna Marie's was working to combat something that he had been a part of, albeit unwillingly.

She studied him as he stared. Being in the sun all of time had left him with a handsome tan, and lightened his hair just a bit. He had grown a bit of a beard - a habit he had picked up in Scotland. Working on the sailboat and spending time swimming and hiking around had left his muscles defined. She hadn't seen him in a suit in what felt like forever, which was crazy for Bella to consider, because prior to their departure from Chicago, she had never really seen him dressed more casually than business casual.

Eventually, Edward blinked away his stare and returned her gaze with a smile.

"Anything else?" he asked with polite curiosity.

"Emmett gets along with Harold as well as you did."

Edward raised an eyebrow in disgust.

"That thing is still alive?"

"Edward."

"I feel it outlived its usefulness long ago."

"Edward."

"Swan, he pissed in my shoes."

"You forgot to feed him."

"I did not _forget_ …" he muttered under his breath.

"He's in the prime of us life. He'll still be around when we get back, so try not to get too excited."

Edward let a slow smile spread over his face as he stood up from his chair and pounced at her to tickle her as he said, "Who says we'll ever get back?"

Bella giggled and swatted him away as his fingers danced down her stomach, tossing her around the pleather seating. She stopped squirming once he had her settled onto his lap.

"I still can't believe Cullen Consulting managed to survive all of that. The fact that the employees stuck by Carlisle in the midst of all of that, especially since so much has been classified and they don't even know about the Brigados, just that it was a cyber attack by one of organizations CC was investigating, just blows my mind."

Edward tapped his finger lightly to her nose as she rambled. "The fact that more freckles have showed up on your nose despite your utterly excessive use of sunscreen just blows my mind."

Bella let out a light groan.

"They just keep popping up."

Edward leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose.

"You're the one who wanted islands in warmer weather," he reminded her with a smirk.

They had been island hopping in Greece for three months now. They had only stayed in Athens for a day to examine the Parthenon and Acropolis. Edward was a bit on edge with all of the crowds of people, but Bella chalked a lot of that up to the fact that despite his best attempts, Edward wasn't a huge fan of humans. They had actually ended up enjoying the slightly less crowded Acropolis Museum and the Parthenon Gallery more than the Parthenon itself, though Bella had excitedly absorbed all of the history of the place, and Edward had watched her with content eyes.

And promptly bought a sailboat/yacht the next day to whisk her off mainland.

They had sailed to Aegina, Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, and countless others along the way. They gravitated towards smaller islands with less tourists and would spend the day on land exploring the beaches, vegetation, and history and the nights in their boat on the sparkling sea. It was a bizarre combination of honeymoon and sabbatical, and Bella couldn't always wrap her mind around that this was her life.

"And thank you for not buying an island in said warmer weather," Bella teased.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Swan, if it's matter of money that upsets you, this boat cost more than our island in Scotland."

"No, it's really just the principle that you bought an island."

"That upsets you?" he asked.

"I got over my grievances," she admitted.

"Admirable."

Bella just shook her head with a chuckle. "You're an ass."

Edward got a playful glint in his eyes at her words. "Oh you think so?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, standing up off of the pleather couch, with her still in his arms.

"Something like that," she answered, eyeing him suspiciously as he started walking out of the hull and towards the back of the boat.

"Well I suppose I better live up to such a title…" And then he took off running, and Bella let out a squeal as soon as she realized was happening. With her still in his arms, he leapt off the back of the boat, sending them crashing into the warm blue sea.

Bella popped to the surface, blinking the water out of her eyes and gasping. Edward surfaced next to her, laughing at her shocked expression with an absolutely irresistible smile on his face. Bella's heart felt like it was going to burst at seeing the big smile on his face. She swam the small distance over to him and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a salty kiss.

"And you-"

Bella cut off his speech by pushing him into the water, giggling and grinning like the Cheshire cat when he was the one to pop up sputtering.

"I'll get you for that, Swan."

* * *

Bella couldn't help but let out a delighted laugh as she took in all of the lush vegetation around her as they whipped through the winding roads of Croatia on their way to see the world-famous waterfalls. There was not a cloud in the sky and the sun was warming the trees surrounding the road, enveloping them in a warmth that was comfortable but not oppressive.

She tightened her arms around Edward's torso, not because of necessity but just because she felt so truly happy.

They were currently on a motorcycle that Edward had either just rented or possibly bought, she wasn't really sure and had stopped asking such questions, weaving their way through the trees and mountains, following the jagged Dalmatian coastline. Edward was expertly maneuvering the bike, and Bella was a completely trusting and content passenger as they cruised around.

Content and ready to jump him at the next possible opportunity.

Turns out Edward looked incredibly sexy handling the bike. A part of her was hoping he had bought it. And that part was growing exponentially.

"Hold on," Edward called, loud enough to be heard through the wind. Bella smiled and tightened her hold so that she was snuggled up against him as he turned off the main road and followed the directions to the nearby scenic overview.

Edward slowed the bike down as the Adriatic Sea came into view. The only thing separating the sea from the top of cliff they were on was a measly metal fence for cars to park against. Bella smiled at the sparkling blue waters.

"Sorry. I think someone is trying to reach me," Edward explained as he rolled the motorcycle into a stop.

Bella took off her helmet as she assured him, "No worries."

He flashed her a crooked half smirk before pulling his phone out of his pocket and returning the call that he had just missed. Bella set the helmet on the bike and went to look at the sparkling sea and the bright sun. She stayed under the protection of some of the trees that were dense around the edges of the cliff.

Bella loved Croatia. She was infinitely elated that they had sailed here after they their couple of months around the Greek islands, with a couple of stops in Albania and Montenegro on the way. It was somewhat of a compromise since Edward had more or less flat out refused to go to Italy.

She couldn't say she particularly wanted to set foot in the ancestral home of the Brigados either.

Bella turned as she heard Edward's tone change in the phone conversation he was having.

"What do you mean there is a problem?" Edward asked into the phone, all business.

Edward listened to the phone but shook his head at Bella, silently tell her not to worry as he pushed off from the motorcycle and walked as he spoke. Bella went over to the bike and retrieved the Canon she had purchased in Greece in an attempt to document their explorations. She set about trying to get the views as Edward spoke.

He seemed vaguely irritated. She would have to ask once he was done.

"I see," he was saying, a bit tersely. "And that would allow the process to move forward?"

Bella checked the picture she had just taken and then sighed. That sun was bright and beautiful but she really didn't know how to photograph with it.

"Fine. EHB."

She tried once more to get the sea.

"Yes, three letters, nothing more. Will that suffice or do you anticipate further issues?"

That one was at least a little better but she turned the camera off with a roll of her eyes. She wasn't really sure why she bothered to try and capture what couldn't be recreated.

"Yes. Keep me updated. Goodbye."

Bella turned back towards him once it was clear that he was off of the phone.

"Everything alright?"

Edward slid his phone back into his pocket and walked to stand next to her and admire the bypass. "There was a delay with the Malawi government with the paper work of the firm."

Bella's brows furrowed. "Why?"

"They insisted the enterprise needs a name before it can get through the last of the endless hoops," he explained with an eye roll.

"Makes sense," she said. Edward leveled her with a dead panned stare. "Nope, that's absolutely and utterly ridiculous. Why on earth would they need that?"

"Smartass," he grumbled, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her into his side.

"What did you name it then?" she asked.

Edward looked out at the sea, his eyes unreadable hidden behind his Ray Bans. "EHB."

"What for?" she wondered, softening her tone.

"Elizabeth, Henry, and Bella."

His mother, his brother, and his life.

* * *

"Hello, hello! A beautiful woman such as yourself must have the most beautiful of sparkle, yes? Sparkle to match those big, beautiful eyes!"

Bella let out a giggle at the Frenchmen's words, laughing at Edward's reaction at to the man standing outside the jewelry store. He was eying him with his customary snarl, clearly underwhelmed by the salesman's tactics.

The man was undeterred. "Such exquisite beauty you have, it cannot possible be matched, but I will try my best. Come, come!"

Edward glared.

When the man turned to make sure they were following him into the quaint jewelry store, he acknowledged Edward's unpleasantness.

"He does not think you deserve something splendid? He does not cherish your beauty?" he asked Bella accusingly.

Bella was amused with Edward's reaction and willing to play along to tease the man she loved.

"I thought so…but maybe I was wr-"

Edward interrupted her with a heavy sigh and a gesture to follow the man.

"After you, Swan."

She laughed and any irritation he had vanished at the sound of her playfulness.

Bella followed the man into his store, not really intending to purchase anything, but she was always on the lookout in the event she found anything for one her friends. She knew Rose had a slight obsession with Paris, so if she found anything, she could be convinced to purchase it for her friend who was working non-stop at Anna Maries, trying to make the world a better place.

They were just in Paris for the weekend. They were living in the South of France for the time being. Once they had finished lazily exploring the Adriatic they weren't ready to leave the sunshine and settled in French Riviera for a bit. In high school, her history teacher had gone on absolute tirades about the French, and that had stuck with her into adulthood which left her frequently entertained with the people of the country.

"You are a white gold woman, am I correct?" he guessed, as they entered the high end jewelry store.

"Yep, that's me," Bella said.

Edward chuckled under his breath at the dryness of her tone.

The man went behind the glass table and pulled out a velvet tray of some serious looking diamond rings. Bella blinked back in surprise of them but before she could protest, the salesman continued as he picked up two rings which were simple yet brilliant.

"You are successful, yes?" he guessed.

Bella wasn't sure how to respond.

"Yes," Edward replied firmly.

The man smiled at Edward approvingly before turning to Bella. "You walk so strong, so courageous. And you are a beautiful that lasts through the ages. You need a strong jewel, something bold yet timeless."

Bella was powerless to admit that the rings he had picked up were stunning, because they were.

"Size 7?" he asked, looking at her fingers.

At the question, Bella finally lost some of her willingness to play along and blinked out the brief trance she had fallen into. She did not need that ring and she could not imagine it's cost. "Yes, but actually I'm looking for something for one of my friends. She loves Paris," Bella said, changing the conversation.

"A generous heart too," he said, shaking his head to amazement. Bella almost rolled her eyes but kept the smile on her face – he was entertaining her, she had to give him that much.

"For a friend you say?" he asked, putting the rings back in their display. "I have a collection of rose gold necklaces, designed and created right here in Paris, under the twinkling lights of the Eiffel Tower."

Bella felt her phone begin to buzz in her purse and pulled it out while the man retrieved the tray of rose gold necklaces. She saw that it was her father calling and figured it was best to answer, since he so rarely contacted her.

"I'll just be a moment," Bella excused herself. "See if anything looks like Rosalie."

Edward gave her a dubious stare at the instruction while the man shrieked in delight that the rose gold necklace was for a Rose.

"Hey Dad," she greeted as she exited the store.

"Hey Bella!" he said. "Hey, I don't want to take up too much of your time, since I know you're busy, just wanted to make sure you were still doing alright in London."

Bella winced at the white lie she had told him months ago once she and Edward had gotten less paranoid about being tracked or followed. They were still off of the radar, but that was mostly a personal choice at this point, rather than a safety precaution.

"Yeah," she said, injecting her voice with cheeriness. "London is great!"

"You like the people in that office?" he asked gruffly.

"They're great," she replied.

"Good. We were worried about you and your career when all of that news about Cullen Consulting hit last year," he said. "Still can't believe that a company with so many resources got hacked the way you guys did. I think it was good idea to sell that crime division. Let the police handle that kind of thing…" he trailed off authoritatively.

"Yeah, for sure," she agreed absentmindedly. She didn't dare say anything else.

Charlie briefly gossiped about town happenings, but it was not the town she had grown up in. Both Charlie and Renee had moved after the divorce finalized when Bella was in college. It was part of the reason she didn't really feel connected to them anymore. But she did love her dad and listened as he spoke, chiming in occasionally.

"Well anyway, good for you, seeing the world and whatnot," he said. "I'll let you get going, I'm sure you've got a busy day in front of you. Good talking to you, Bella."

"You too, Dad," she said. And they said goodbye and hung up. She likely wouldn't talk to him for another couple of months.

Just as she was sliding her phone back into her purse, Edward was exiting the store, appearing to be empty handed.

"Slipped away?" she teased.

Edward leveled her with a glare which would cause anyone else to wither.

"Insufferable."

Bella laughed and twined her fingers with his.

* * *

They had made it to Malawi, their final stop on their trip and what would be their home for awhile. They had taken their time in Spain, revisiting Barcelona and the streets they had walked when they first fell in love. They had explored with the same type of lazy curiosity that they had when they began their European travels, but Bella could see that Edward was eager to begin his work with EHB.

Going to one of the poorest countries in Africa after gallivanting around Europe for months would be a shock to anyone's system, but Bella fell in love with the country the moment she stepped off of the airplane. The air was humid and she felt it immediately, but as soon as her feet were on solid ground, she experienced a weird feeling something akin to homecoming.

EHB's first location in Malawi was Blantyre, a city in the Shire Highlands in the southern part of the country. Edward said it was Malawi's finance and commerce capital at 500,000 people, though Bella wouldn't be so quick as to describe it as a thriving metropolis. Bella loved the sight of the highlands in the distance, and it made her think back to their time in the Scottish Highlands.

They were just getting settled into their new home and getting back from securing the proper clothing provisions when Edward's phone rang. It was an increasingly more common occurrence now that he was working with people again, though it still caught Bella off guard after so long of living a nomadic life in their bubble of sorts.

Edward saw that it was an unknown number from the United States calling him, and almost decided against answering it, but did so against his better judgment.

"Yes?" he answered in a hard tone.

"Hello. Is this Edward speaking?"

Edward recognized the voice, but did not immediately know from where.

"Yes, it is," he replied tersely.

"Hello Edward, it's Barack Obama. How are you doing?"

Edward was not usually one to be rendered speechless. But at those words and the vocal recognition, he couldn't help but pause in absolute surprise.

It wasn't often the President of the United States called him.

"Fine, sir." He could feel Bella's gaze whip up in his direction at his use of formalities. "May I ask what this is regarding?"

"I'm calling to thank you, Edward. You've done this country a tremendous service without receiving any of the recognition that you so rightfully deserve."

Uncharacteristically, Edward was frozen.

Bella was now looking at him in great concern.

"You're a difficult person to track down. It took my guys weeks to find this number. But I wanted to give you a call and personally assure you that we have prosecuted all of those involved within that crime organization to the fullest extent of the law. You've made the streets of Chicago safe again, the attorneys and officials just took it from there. You've saved the lives of many, at a high cost to yourself, and there is no greater act of love."

"Who is it?" Bella whispered as she approached him.

Edward swallowed.

"You've rooted out the corruption in the forces and the new people in government in Illinois will ensure that the people of Chicago and the people of this nation are never again caught in the crossfires of violence and injustice. You've protected the lives of innocent trafficking victims across the globe and saved thousands in halting of the weapon trading around the world."

Unsure how to respond, Edward finally nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"No, thank you, Edward. For your service to this country, the United States of America is in your debt."

* * *

For those of you who have been following me for a long time now, you know what I have a tradition of posting an update on my birthday - 2018 is no different, so here you go!

The way things are going with my new story, you may be getting an update next birthday too. Stay tuned as that one shapes out.

Only a couple chapters left of this one - Malawi has a surprise or two for them.

Cheers.


	43. Chapter 42

Last chapter we had Barack Obama, this chapter we have some even more special characters.

* * *

"Miss Bella, Miss Bella! Miss Bella, look!"

Bella looked up and saw three young girls racing towards her and a large smile spread across her face at their exuberance. A little boy was trailing after them, trying to keep up, but his size and general lack of coordination left him firmly behind.

"What do you have there?" she asked as they raced to her, gasping for air from their running.

"Look what we found!" Lucia, the eldest of the three sisters, carefully sat down on the ground next to Bella, where the latter noticed that she was very gingerly cupping her hands together.

Bella leaned over with a smile as her sisters crowded around excited. The little boy, Paxton, had finally caught up, but was gasping for air as he tried to get a good view himself in between the older girls.

Lucia opened her hands to reveal a small white mouse, standing starkly against her dark skin. The mouse was quivering but didn't seem any worse for the wear. "Isn't he soooo cute?" her sister, Rhoda squealed, reaching to gingerly pet the mouse with one tentative finger.

"He's precious!" Bella exclaimed in agreement.

Paxton stumbled a few yards over to where Bella was seated cross legged and then collapsed into her lap in a dramatic fashion that only a toddler could. When he let out a heavy sigh, Bella bit back a laugh.

"Are you alright there, Pax?" she asked, humor in her voice.

Making himself comfortable on her, he rested his elbow on her knee and used it to prop up his head. "Just a little tired, Miss Bella."

Bella laughed at his antics and wrapped her arms around the little guy, squeezing him into a hug as her heart swelled.

"Can we keep him?" Lucia asked excitedly, still holding onto her mouse

"Hmmm," Bella pondered. "I think your mother may prefer you leave him with his family once you're done petting him."

Rhoda let out a dramatic groan. "Ahhhhh," she said disappointedly.

"But we can still play with him for a little bit?" Lucia asked.

Bella nodded. "If you're gentle with him."

"Miss Bellllllla! Did you see that?"

She had been so distracted by their new pet that she had forgotten about the game of four square that she been supervising between four of the grade school children.

"Redo the point!" she declared, having totally missed it.

That seemed to appease them and the kickball once again started to be passed between them, bouncing in and out of squares with increasing speed. The girls went in search of a little container for their new friend, passing Nathaniel on the way, but giving him a wide berth.

Nathaniel was Paxton's older brother, and the oldest of the children currently under Bella's watchful eye at the age of 9. Bella kept an eye on him, but he was the most self-sufficient, having accepted his role as the man of the house when his father died three years ago. Bella worried about him – he carried far too much weight for such a young boy, and didn't play the way the other kids did. He kept to himself, endlessly drawing patterns into the dirt with a stick.

Bella looked down at Paxton, whose head was drooping at an alarming rate.

"Oh Pax," she murmured affectionately as she readjusted him so that he was tucked in her arms, letting his head rest against her. "What are we going to do with you?"

"Sleep, Miss Bella."

Bella bit back a laugh as he closed his eyes and was asleep against her in moments.

They were in the large lot of land that Edward's firm, EHB, was housed in. The building itself was relatively small but clean and suited their purposes. It was on the border of Blantyre, not in the heart of the city but not in a completely remote location either. This allowed women from both the city and the surrounding villages to be able to access it with relative ease. Bella was happy to have the extra land as a place for the kids to play, and the view of the Highlands in the distance was not a bad one either.

She glanced behind her into the bungalow turned office space. Edward was currently in there finishing up one of his micro-finance courses which he taught weekly to the women who had loans with him.

There was no interest rate on the loans, but Edward was adamant that it was not just simply a donation or an act of charity - he firmly believed that only further weakened the Malawi economy and just recreated and legitimized global asymmetries and fostered dependencies. He was invested in each and every one of their enterprises and wanted them to succeed. He didn't want a financial return on investment, he wanted to empower them and watch them do the same with others in their communities.

It was really incredible to watch him in this environment. His patience was endless as he worked with them, walking each of the women through the process step by step and then supporting them in their individual ventures. He smiled often and it was contagious for Bella. She had volunteered her time more than once in the past few months, but she was really content to watch the kiddos when their moms needed to concentrate on work.

"Lucia! Rhoda! Violet!"

Bella watched as the three sisters went running to their mom who was emerging from the building, bucket in their hands. She chuckled to herself at the poor mouse's expense.

More women followed behind her, each going to retrieve their children from the yard turned playground. Bella carefully stood up from her place on the ground, trying not to jostle the sleeping boy in her arms too much. Paxton let out a little grumble in his sleep but only snuggled against her more. Bella kissed the top of his head as she walked to where his mom, Hawa, was exiting and conversing with Edward.

Hawa had started a grocery business in her neighborhood, needing to earn income to be able to put Nathaniel to school after her husband died and they lost his income. She had the brightest smile and best of hearts and both Bella and Edward considered her a dear friend.

"…yes, I was just thinking that I will nee-" she broke off with a laugh at seeing Paxton passed out in Bella's arms.

"He was trying to keep up with the girls," Bella explained. "Tired him out."

Hawa laughed as she reached out to take her son into her arms. "Silly boy," she crooned.

Edward tucked Bella under his arm and she wrapped her arm around his waist. She brushed past the gun that he now kept on him much more frequently. On the rare instance that Bella was going somewhere without Edward, she carried one as well, at his insistence.

Nathaniel appeared by his mom's side quietly, having discarded his stick when his mom exited the class. He kept his eyes down to the ground shyly. "I can take him," he offered to his mom.

Hawa smiled and kissed her eldest son's head. "Alright, here you go," she said as she transferred a sleeping Paxton from her arms into Nathaniel's.

"How are you doing today, Nathaniel?" Edward asked him kindly as Nathaniel bounced his brother to readjust his weight.

Nathaniel looked up at Edward and nodded. "I'm good, Mr. Edward. Thank you."

Bella bit back a smile. No one really seemed to get Nathaniel the way that Edward did. They were two sides of the same coin and that had become apparent within their first month in Malawi.

* * *

 _It had only been months ago when the first and only incident happened. Edward had been meeting with two women who ran a hair salon and needed a loan to expand the enterprise and hire more staff. Hawa had been inside completing some necessary paperwork and Bella had been outside with the kiddos, bouncing a volleyball with them._

 _Once they had finished up, Edward had escorted the three women outside to go and retrieve their children. Bella had been chatting with the moms, laughing at something Paxton had done when they had come onto the property._

 _Edward had seen them before anyone else did._

 _Three men emerged from a dense cluster of shrubs, each wielding machetes. Before Bella even could register they were a threat, Edward had whipped his gun out from his waistband, something Bella hadn't even noticed was there. He fired a shot above their heads without hesitation._

 _Three more men climbed over the fencing, each of them carrying the large weapons as well._

 _"Swan, get them inside."_

 _It was not a request._

 _Bella hurried and ushered the scared children and the grim faced mothers into the building. The children ran inside without looking back, frightened by the emergence of the dangerous men. The mothers looked resigned._

 _Before Bella could get them all inside, she heard Edward speak lowly in Spanish, a language the men wouldn't know. "Hay un arma en el escritorio."_

 _Bella hurried inside with them, trying to rush past them to get to Edward's desk and locate the weapon. She didn't even notice that she had failed to get everyone inside._

 _Nathaniel had not followed the rest of the children into the dubious safety of the building. Instead, he had squared his thin shoulders and went to stand next to Edward, raising his chin defiantly._

 _"Get inside," Edward had hissed upon seeing him. He had his gun poised at eye level and was ready to fire. There were at least six bullets._

 _"No," Nathaniel insisted. "I will help fight them with you."_

 _One of the men pulled out a crude firearm and pointed it not at Edward, but at Nathaniel._

 _"Give us the money! No one gets hurt."_

 _Edward didn't bother to mask his fury. With the calmness of someone who had seen far too many cruelties in the world, Edward pivoted the direction his gun was pointing and pulled the trigger at the man who had the gun, sending a bullet ripping through his leg. He crumbled at the impact, letting out a pained yell._

 _Without wasting another moment, Edward grabbed the boy and shoved him behind his body, positioning himself firmly in front of him._

 _"I am not giving you a thing," Edward informed them in a murderously calm tone. "And if you ever even so much as think about coming back here, I will hunt you down and put each and every one of these bullets through you. And then I will find all of your friends and do the same."_

 _"We both will."_

 _Bella stepped out of the building with the gun raised to shoulder level, safety off and her finger on the trigger, pointing at the direction of the men who had come from the vegetation. She took slow yet confident steps, keeping her weapon trained on them as she passed Nathaniel and went to stand shoulder to shoulder with Edward, shielding the boy._

 _"Get the hell out of here."_

 _Edward punctuated the demand by firing another shot at one of the men, purposely missing his hip by inches._

 _The men recognized that while they had the numbers, they didn't have the firepower nor the will for what they had hoped would be an easy robbery. Edward and Bella were white and clearly from America, and though they did not flaunt wealth by any means, people knew they had money, money they were continuously lending to women. It had not occurred to them that they would be able to defend themselves._

 _But looking at the man's cold eyes, they knew he would make good on his promise._

 _So they scampered away._

 _Neither Edward nor Bella lowered their weapons until they were totally out of sight. Bella let out a heavy breath, feeling her heart pounding harshly in her chest. It had been a long time since she had handled a gun, and it was not something she desired to do again._

 _Whether or not that was true for Edward was irrelevant. He had slipped so easily into his past life, maintaining his calmness while he turned colder than ice, ready to kill at moment's notice. He had been expecting something like it to happen, and he hoped he had left a harsh enough impression that it would not be a repeated occurrence._

 _"Nathaniel, what do you think you were doing?" Edward demanded as he lowered his gun and slid the safety back into place._

 _"It is my job to project my family, sir."_

 _Edward couldn't find it in himself to fault him for that._

* * *

The country of Malawi nestled itself firmly within the hearts of both Edward and Bella. Edward truly enjoyed the work he was doing and Bella was more than content to fill her time with kiddos, occasional consulting, and finishing up her online Master's degree at her own pace.

They watched as the women developed and grew their businesses, access to the proper education and training preparing them well. Word had spread of the work Edward was doing and several women had come to him with loans they could not pay back and struggling or failed ventures. In most cases, Edward bought their loans from the banks that had granted them, slashed the interest rates to nearly nothing and acted as a consultant for their businesses.

Their children were thriving as their mothers were financially secure enough to support their educations. They were all happy and healthy kids and Bella so loved them. Her old life felt so far away, yet she was completely content with Edward, doing what they were doing.

That being said, Bella would be lying if she said she didn't feel a pang in her heart when Alice called to tell her that she was pregnant. Now that Bella was in her 30's and being around children so much, the thought crossed her mind with increased frequency.

But she was so happy for her friends. She missed them a lot on some of her days. Emmett and Rosalie had gotten engaged last year and had a wedding date that was approaching within the next year. Esme and Carlisle had poured their heart and soul in Anna Marie's, and the non-profit was flourishing and accomplishing its goal of saving lives. She missed the family that they had created, but was happy with the life she was living with Edward as well.

There came a time, however, when they decided they could and perhaps, should, leave Malawi.

"There are so many other countries that are even poorer and in even greater need of economic development," Edward had said. "It's gotten to the point where the women here are now strong business leaders in this community. They're ready to help train and mentor more women in their own ventures. It can sustain itself."

Edward's words had been laced with pride and Bella's heart had swelled at them.

It was true. He had done it. And she couldn't love him more.

So gradual preparation began for their departure from Malawi and a move to Liberia. Edward had a contact there who was once again doing the leg work of starting an EHB location there, but since so much of the process had been in creating the organization, there was less that had to be done.

Bella stepped in to recruit and hire a manager for the Malawi EHB, someone to report electronically to Edward and handle the logistics of the financing and educational classes. Dozens of men applied for the position as well as a few of the women who had financed with Edward. However, many of them were content within their expanding businesses and did not wish to change focuses.

She had interviewed many of them, but the one that excited her most was a young woman named Estridah, who was originally from Malawi but had moved to England to attend university. Estridah was returning back to her home city of Blantyre, intent of using what she learned at university to improve the lives of those in her community.

She was perfect.

Edward met her after the interview and had been immediately impressed with her liveliness. After several minutes of discussion, it became clear that she had a good head and knew exactly what she was talking about. So Edward began training her, as well as improving the security system that housed the office. He detested the patriarchy, but he had to acknowledge that with his upcoming departure, extra security was needed.

On one of their last days in Malawi, Edward and Estridah were going over last minute procedural details on an otherwise quiet day when the phone rang.

Estridah answered it and greeted whoever was on the phone. It didn't strike Bella as out of the ordinary until there was a long pause before she spoke again.

"What happened?" she asked quietly.

"Who is it?" Bella asked.

Estridah removed the phone from her ear and held it to Edward.

"It's that boy, Nathaniel. He says his mother is very sick and in the hospital."

"What?" hissed Edward.

Bella shot up from her seat as Edward took the phone and began to speak to Nathaniel, forcing calmness into his voice as he spoke to the boy.

"You did the right thing," Edward said firmly after listening briefly. "Do you have Paxton? Good. We will be there as soon as we can."

Bella was already racing out the door before Edward had hung up the phone.

The two of them got to the hospital as quickly as they could, but it still took them over an hour, since it was on the other side of the city and the crumbling roads made for terrible driving conditions and horrendous traffic. Bella ran to the reception desk, Edward hot on her heels.

"Where is Hawa Roshin?" she asked.

The woman at the reception was surprised to see the two of them in front of her, but blinked away her shock and looked down at her clipboard.

"What is your relation to her?" she asked as she looked.

"Employer," Edward answered with an air of authority. "And friend."

"I will fetch you a doctor," she finally said. "Just one moment, Mr. and Mrs…?"

"Cullen," Bella supplied hurriedly, uninterested in semantics.

The woman nodded and stood up from her desk. Bella was strumming her fingers against her arm and resisting the urge to pace. Edward had run his hand through his hair no fewer than eight times.

"Mr. and Mrs. Cullen," a young doctor greeted them. Bella knew this was a teaching facility, but had a reputation for providing sufficient care. "I do not know how to say this, but I am so sorry."

Bella didn't hear the rest of what the man had to say.

She let out a heart broken breath as she leaned into Edward's side while he listened to the doctor explain that the virus had come on so suddenly that there was nothing they could do by the time Nathaniel found her and called an ambulance to get her to the hospital. It wasn't a common virus, but it wasn't entirely rare to the area.

Hawa had been so wonderfully full of life that Bella couldn't believe she was gone.

"And what of the children?" Edward asked.

The doctor sighed heavily.

"She has no immediate family as next of kin in regards to guardianship," he told them.

"What does that mean for Nathaniel and Paxton?" Bella asked, blinking back tears.

The doctor looked sad. "There's a social worker who has been assigned to their case. He is with them now and will be able to tell you further details, but they likely will be placed in a foster home."

Edward gave him a tight, dismissive nod and the young doctor walked away.

The thought that those brothers were sitting somewhere together and scared, having just lost the one person in the world meant to take care of them left Bella to brush away the tears that had slipped out of her eyes. She tried to blink back the rest of them as she turned to the man she loved.

In his own eyes she saw unmistakable sorrow at the all too familiar and too personal narrative of two brothers losing their mother and her heart broke even further.

Bella locked eyes with him and he let out of a breath, "Swan…" he started hesitantly.

He didn't need to say anything else. She nodded in agreement.

"Those are our boys."

* * *

All of the love, always.

See you soon.


	44. Chapter 43

_The thought that those brothers were sitting somewhere together and scared, having just lost the one person in the world meant to take care of them left Bella to brush away the tears that had slipped out of her eyes. She tried to blink back the rest of them as she turned to the man she loved. In his own eyes she saw unmistakable sorrow at the all too familiar and too personal narrative of two brothers losing their mother and her heart broke even further._

 _Bella locked eyes with him and he let out of a breath, "Swan…" he started hesitantly._

 _He didn't need to say anything else. She nodded in agreement._

 _"Those are our boys."_

* * *

"Mr. Masen, Ms. Swan, I understand your desire to adopt these children, however, given the current situation, this could take years."

"Why is that?" Edward snapped.

Bella reached over the space between them and grabbed his hand. It won't do either of them any good if Edward bit off Paxton and Nathaniel's social worker's head.

Peter looked down at all of the papers spread across his tiny, cramped desk and picked up several of them.

"Well, for starters, you don't even have a permanent address on file."

"We have seven."

Peter blinked in surprise. "Yes, well, uh, if you have seven…that's hardly permanent."

Edward closed his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh. "Where would you prefer the permanent address be?" he asked in strained patience.

"Well, since you are citizens of the United States, it would make things less complicated if that was your residence."

"Fine. List the Chicago address."

Peter hurried to scribble on the form in front of him.

He then looked over at Bella since Edward was scowling fiercely. "You do understand, though, that this process could take months, if not years?"

"What will happen to the boys in that time?" she asked anxiously.

"They will continue to stay in foster care until all of the necessary paperwork can be processed."

Bella grimaced. Their mother had just died and they had no family. Her heart ached at them having to adjust to an over crowded and under funded home filled with other children that had all suffered their own hardships.

"And what's the alternative?" Edward demanded.

"Um, what?" Peter asked.

Edward glared. "I will not allow that, so I suggest you give me another option."

Bella squeezed his hand, urging him to cling onto any semblance of politeness. But internally, she felt her heart beat harder.

"Well, I suppose we could petition the courts to grant you temporary foster status, in which case the boys may be able to live with you. But that's a short term solution, and um, that brings me to the next issue with um, your case…"

"What is that?" Edward asked with clenched teeth.

"You will need to get married."

Peter looked down.

Bella blinked.

Edward nodded.

Bella blinked again.

Edward squeezed her hand.

Bella swallowed.

"And that will expedite the process?" he asked, his tone marginally softer.

Peter winced. "Well, um, from Malawi's standpoint, if you're married, there are several checks we have to run but I don't really see a problem with the forms checking out on our end. However, America is quite slow when it comes to all of this, and it will take a long time," Peter informed them, then added with a chuckle, "Unless you know the President of the United States."

* * *

After a brief stop at their Malawi home in which Edward casually contacted the leader of the free world and cashed in on the debt that the President said was owed to him, they went to the foster home where they were located, on the other side of the city of Blantyre. It was a boy's home, and Paxton was technically too young to be there, but Nathaniel had refused to be separated from his younger brother, the social worker had told them.

The home was located on a large plot of land and there were boys outside playing since it was not a school day. They spotted Paxton and Nathaniel at the edge of the plot, squatting on the ground and looking at something in the dirt. Bella smiled at the sight of them together and began to walk in their direction but Edward took her hand and stopped her.

"Wait."

She looked at him in confusion as he locked eyes with her.

"I love you and I want nothing more than to have this family with you, Swan," he told her intently. "Marry me."

"Miss Bella! Mr. Edward!"

Paxton had caught sight of them it seemed, and both of them looked over and saw a handsome little man running towards them as fast as his little legs could take him.

Bella looked back at Edward, her eyes pricking at the earnest expression on his face.

She nodded, blinking rapidly and feeling a spread of butterflies in her heart.

"Yes! Yes, of course."

Before she could throw her arms around him or kiss him like all good proposals do, Paxton had just about reached them, still yelling excitedly. A huge smile spread across Bella's face as she squatted down and opened her arms. Edward's lips turned up into a fond smile, powerless to resist the sweet boy.

Paxton flew into her arms. "Hey buddy!" she laughed, standing up and spinning around as he clung tightly to her and giggled. She looked over at Edward with a smile that he could only describe as incandescent.

For all of the days of his life, he would remember how she looked in that moment.

The joy and love radiated from her and her smile was brighter than the sun. The sight of her laughing with that sweet boy and looking at the love of her life with such adoration and happiness would stay with him forever.

"Yes, of course," she repeated happily, a shining smile on her face.

Edward wrapped his arm around Bella's waist and reverently kissed her temple as Paxton nuzzled into her, content. Bella felt like her heart would burst at having all she ever wanted in that moment.

But something was missing.

Edward saw it too.

Nathaniel was not where Paxton had left him and instead had taken off running in the opposite direction, away from them and towards the highlands.

With a fallen smile, Bella moved to hand Paxton over to Edward, but he shook his head.

"I've got it."

Edward kissed the top of her head and squeezed her waist again before releasing her and heading after the older brother. He walked calmly, not chasing after him but giving him time. As he walked, memories of his past life with his own brother Henry flooded through his mind, uninvited. He shook his head to himself.

Nathaniel didn't run far.

He stopped about a quarter of a mile away at what must have been the end of the plot of land, marked by a wooden stake. Nathaniel was resting against the stake and staring determinedly out at the highlands, his arms crossed against his chest and his position defensive and closed off.

Edward took a deep breath, an unfamiliar feeling of nerves descending over him.

He moved to stand next to Nathaniel and stare out at the mountains, but realized that his form towered over the boy at full height. Glancing at the dusty ground, Edward made his decision and sat down casually, letting Nathaniel have the higher ground.

"I won't let you take Paxton."

The words were defiant but Edward could hear the unmistakable quiver.

There were tears in the boy's eyes as he stared determinedly ahead, not looking at Edward.

"I know."

"I can take care of him," Nathaniel insisted through angry tears. "I know I can."

Edward sighed and felt the familiar ache in his heart. The boy next to him was ten years old. Ten. And he had gotten caught up in the total unfairness of the world, an unfairness that Edward would not wish on anyone, much less a child.

"I am sorry about your mother," he offered. "She was a really a wonderful woman."

Nathaniel said nothing, but Edward saw his eyes fill with more tears as his body began to shake.

"I had a younger brother," he said after a moment. "His name was Henry. We did not have a father, but we had a mother and she was so kind and smart. The three of us were happy… very happy when I was a child."

Nathaniel stubbornly wiped away the tears that had slipped out of his eyes before crossing his arms against his chest again, albeit looser this time.

Edward continued his tale, maintaining the soft tone and child appropriate words. It felt strange for him to be talking to anyone but Bella about this, but he swallowed back his discomfort and continued.

"She died when my younger brother was still in school. It surprised all of us, and I did not know what to do. Henry and I had no one else when she was gone, and I had been very frightened. I wanted to take care of Henry and protect him, but I was so young, I didn't know what I was doing."

Nathaniel lost some of the defensiveness in his posture finally.

Edward slowly got up from the ground so that he was crouching in front of the misunderstood and frightened boy.

He put his hand on his shoulder and softened his expression as Nathaniel met his eyes. "Bella and I would very much like for you to be part of our family. Both you and Paxton."

Nathaniel blinked in surprise, his eyes widening in a shock that both broke and warmed Edward's heart.

"Really?" he breathed.

Edward nodded.

"We can live in America with you?" Nathaniel asked.

Edward's lips turned up into a smirk. "If you want to, yes."

"With Paxton?"

"Of course."

Nathaniel blinked as his breathing started to become erradic.

"We will take care of you and we will protect you, Nathaniel. You and Paxton. I promise."

Nathaniel threw his arms around Edward's neck with such force that the man almost lost his footing from the crouch he was in.

In all of the times Edward had allowed himself to consider fatherhood, he always anticipated a feeling of uncertainty and discomfort that accompanied it. He never thought it would be as easy as it would certainly be for Bella. Other than with her, he was horrendous at showing any emotion or affection. He didn't think he would ever really be comfortable with the idea.

But he was wrong.

As soon as Nathaniel was hugging him, his body shaking with sobs that were both scared and relieved, Edward enveloped him tightly against his chest as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He held onto the boy and felt every ounce of affection for him and every instinct to protect him with his own life.

It scared the absolute hell out of him.

But it was more natural than he had ever dared to hope.

Edward let out a breath and squeezed just a little tighter.

He could do it.

He could be a father.

* * *

Paxton and Nathaniel had to stay at the foster home until Edward and Bella were married. Bella had been ready to go to the Malawi courthouse as soon as she learned that, but Edward had stopped her. The foster home was run by good women, albeit tired ones. He gently insisted that they would be alright for a few days.

So that night, the phone calls were made and flights were booked and in the case of Bella's parents, she had some extra explaining to do than just "Come to Africa to meet my husband and your two new grandchildren we're adopting," which went over about as well as anyone would expect it to.

Carlisle cashed in a favor from one of his millionaire investor friends and they would be leaving Chicago the next day on a private plane. They just had to wait for Alice and Jasper to fly in from Seattle, and Bella's parents and step parents, who were more than a little confused but knew that they could not miss their only daughter's weddings.

Esme had cried when Bella called her.

Alice had hollered at Jasper to make sure she could fly while pregnant.

Rosalie had just laughed and told her they'd see her soon.

After the death of Nathaniel and Paxton's mom, Hawa, and her funeral, the women who worked with Edward and Bella were more than thrilled to help plan a celebration of life and love. One of the women volunteered her acres of land which had different vegetation and a stunning view of the highlands in the distance. They took care of most of it and Bella and Edward just had to figure out the logistics regarding marriage licenses in both countries and getting the boys with them. They were granted special permission from the foster home to take them the day of the wedding – if they hadn't been, Bella would have insisted they getting married on the grounds of the home, because she'd be damned if wouldn't be there.

Edward and Bella met the plane at the airport. They had had to arrange for a small bus to pick up the entire family, and it was waiting for them on the tarmac. She had wanted to bring the boys, but the foster home had politely requested that they stay where they were for the time being.

The first one off of the plane was Esme. And based on the look on her face, some elbows had definitely been thrown to get out first.

"Bella! Edward!" she cried as she ran down the stairs, unfiltered in her joy at finally seeing them again.

"Hey Mae!" Bella laughed as she ran to meet her, getting pulled into that wonderful hug of hers that she had missed so much. As she hugged her, she wasn't sure if it was her or Esme that was trembling, but she hugged her all the more tightly.

"Oh I've missed you so much, dear," Esme cried, squeezing her. Bella felt happy tears prick at her eyes at the reunion. "Are you happy?" she asked seriously, pulling back to look at her.

Bella could only beam and nod in response.

"Oh I could not be happier for you," Esme breathed with glittering eyes and a giant smile of her own, hugging her once more.

"Edward!" she exclaimed, moving on to Bella's fiancé with just as much delight. "It's so good to see you!"

And her husband-to-be was powerless to resist Esme's hug. He even returned the hug as he greeted her. He had always had a soft spot for Esme, even if he wouldn't admit it.

Before Bella could marvel at how far her he had come, someone else was attacking her.

"BELLS!" Emmett had picked her up and was twirling her around in a hug. "Where the hell have you been?! God, we've missed you! And God do I really hate your cat."

He set her on her back on her feet as she laughed. "Missed you too. And thank you for not killing Harold."

"We'll see if he survives our absence…"

Rosalie swatted his arm.

"Hey dear," she said, turning to Bella with a smile. "You're sure a sight for sore eyes."

Bella hugged her tightly. "Back at ya."

"We would have arranged for a cat sitter if we would have gotten some advanced notice about a trip to Africa," she added teasingly, pulling away from the hug. "What the hell, Bells?"

"Long story," Bella grinned.

Emmett, having just warmly shaken Edward's hand in greeting chimed in. "Where are the little rascals? I come bearing gifts!" he said, holding up the duffle bag in his hand.

Bella's eyes widened.

Emmett opened the zipper and peered in eagerly. "We got some Cubs hats, we got some skyline snow globes, we got some Bears jerseys, though I didn't know what size so I bought one of each, some Blackhawks T-shirts, again didn't what sizes so I bought four, we got some-"

"He cleaned out the airport store on the way," Rosalie supplied.

"I'm sure they'll love it," Bella said, though it definitely came out as a question, causing Rose to laugh.

"Hey honey! Give your old man a hug," Charlie said, appearing with his wife, Sarah in tow. Bella happily went to give her father, who she hadn't seen in years, a big hug. She also hugged his wife and welcomed her to Malawi. Renee and Phil were next and both of them looked a little frazzled and jet lagged but happy to be seeing her for the first time in a long time as well.

Edward introduced himself to her parents before she even got the chance. Bella beamed in pride as Edward shook her father's hand and tolerated her mother's hug. The four of them were charmed by him, and Bella didn't blame them. Edward was relaxed and confident in Malawi, out of his suit and away from crime and the corporate world. He still could be unpleasant when the mood struck him, but he was doing his best for her and she adored him for it.

"Where's Alic…" the question died on Bella's lips.

"Jasper! For the love of God. I am pregnant not handicapped!"

The Whitlocks were taking their time deplaning, Jasper gingerly holding his wife's hand as she went down the stairs, a small, second trimester bump showing. Carlisle was trailing behind them with a wide grin on his face. As soon as Alice cleared the stairs, she was hurrying over to Bella.

"Oh my God, it's so good to see you, Bella!" she exclaimed, meeting her long lost friend for a reunion hug.

"Look at you!" Bella exclaimed, pulling back to get a better look at Alice's bump. "How far along?"

"Five and a half months," she supplied happily.

"Missy or mister?" she asked excitedly.

Alice shook her head and grinned. "We don't know. We're going to be surprised! Jasper loves it."

"Jasper does not," said Jasper with an eye roll.

"Where are your kiddos?" she asked Bella, looking around excitedly. "Bella I'm so happy for you."

"You'll meet them tomorrow," Bella told her as Jasper came and hugged her. "Hey Jasper."

"Good to see you, darling."

Jasper released her from the hug and then it was just Carlisle left. The blonde man's hair had lightened since she last saw him, a few more laughter lines appearing around his warm blue eyes. He was looking at her with pride and happiness, but also she could sense he had caution in case she fostered any ill will against him.

She didn't. She couldn't.

"It's good to see you, Carlisle," she said softly, a smile on her face.

Carlisle's smile got brighter and he pulled her into a tight hug. Bella let herself be enveloped for just a moment, revealing in the feeling of being home that his presence brought with him.

"Good to see you too, Bella," he whispered, choked up.

They finally pulled back and grinned. Bella looked over at Edward who was chatting amicably with Jasper and Alice, and felt her heart swell. Esme had befriended Renee over the flight and they were animatedly looking around the landscape. Emmett and Charlie were packing the bags into the bus and Rose and Sarah were speaking excitedly about something.

Seeing all of her people in one place for the first time had Bella feeling like it was the happiest she would ever be.

Though, she realized with a grin, she was missing a couple of small people.

* * *

This one just has an epilogue to go.

I'm working on a new story that involves a Scotsman, an American, the financial crisis, and lots of whisky. Stay tuned.

*If anyone has ever been to Munich, Germany/Salzburg area, I'm headed there next week and would love recommendations.

All of my love.


	45. Epilogue

_Feel free to go back and read the last few chapters to warm your heart and remind you how we got here with these two._

* * *

"Are you ready, Miss Bella?"

Bella let out an excited breath and then looked down at the impatient little boy next to her. Esme had brought both Nathaniel and Paxton dress pants and a dress shirt, even completing the look with a little tie for Paxton. She had met him a few hours ago and fallen immediately in love with.

"Hi Miss Esme," he had said, shaking her hand like a proper young man. "I think you're going to be my Grandma, but I've never had a grandma before. But Miss Bella says you've never been a grandma before, so we can learn together."

Esme had swallowed a sob.

Paxton had been hugged a lot that day, needless to say.

Bella smiled down at him. When she had always pictured her wedding day, it usually been Charlie who she imagined would give her away. But she was confident she had found the best man for the job.

"Pax, please just call me Bella."

He swung their interlaced hands back and forth lazily as he thought about this. His face turned adorably inquisitive as he pondered her request. Bella let him swing her hand as she waited.

"But you're my mama now?"

Bella crouched down with a smile and nodded. "I am, sweet boy. But you can call me Bella."

Paxton thought about this.

"But can I call you Mama too?"

Bella's eyes pricked and she gave him a watery smile as she nodded. "I would love that."

Paxton smiled like he had just solved some puzzle. "Okay! Are you ready, Mama Bella?" he asked, testing it out.

Bella nodded, wiping away a tear.

Paxton waited impatiently for Bella to pick up her bouquet of flowers that Rose had put together from the local market. She glanced down at her white dress and made sure nothing was amiss. It was not a traditional wedding dress, but despite the fact that it only went down to her knees and was relatively form fitting and bordered on professional attire, it was white and she was happy in it.

"All ready," she said with a smile. There was no way she could be anything but ready.

Paxton led her out from the cluster of shrubs and into view of the space that had been assembled for the ceremony. It was small with only her family and the women and children who they had come to think of as family in Malawi. People were standing near a large tree which had been fresh flowers from the market woven into the branches and hanging around. Alice, with her background in marketing and her slightly above amateur photographer status, was clicking away on her giant camera as Bella came into view. The small crowd had parted to leave her with an aisle and at the end of the aisle was the other half of her heart.

Edward stood with a grin on his face that brightened into a rare, full smile when he caught sight of her walking towards him with Paxton proudly holding her hand. Nathaniel was standing at Edward's side and though he looked solemn, Bella could see in the way that he held his shoulders that he was immensely proud to be standing at Edward's side. Both of them were dressed in gray dress pants and white dress shirts, looking devastatingly handsome.

Carlisle was standing on Edward's other side, a giant smile on his face as he watched her process towards her fiancé. Apparently he had been ordained as a wedding officiant for his brother's second wedding ten years ago – bit of a stretch but it counted in the eyes of the law.

As Bella locked eyes with the great love of her life, she was overwhelmed with the greatest feeling of happiness she had ever felt. In that second she realized how painfully beautiful life was, giving her a moment in which the joy she felt took her breath away.

By the time she and Paxton had reached the end of the aisle, her breathing still hadn't quite leveled out. Paxton hung tightly onto her hand, unsure quite what to do. Bella gave him a gentle squeeze and was about to bend down and hug him when Edward moved instead.

Edward squatted down so that he was eye level with Paxton.

"Thank you," he told him with the gentle intensity in which he was adapting to fatherhood.

Edward opened his arms up ever so slightly to the little boy, and that was all of the invitation he needed. Paxton put his little arms around Edward and smiled into his chest as the man gave him a gentle squeeze.

There was not a single doubt remaining from Bella's family about Edward. Or a single dry eye.

Edward eventually released Paxton and stood up to take Bella's hands into his own, Rosalie grabbing her bouquet out of her hands for her. Paxton went to stand happily by his older brother, holding his hand out. Nathaniel didn't take his serious gaze off of Bella and Edward, but Bella smiled as she saw him take his younger brother's hand.

Carlisle spoke but Bella couldn't remember what he said to save her life. She was caught up in looking into Edward's eyes that shined with the same happiness she felt. She only vaguely registered that Carlisle had told Edward to repeat after him.

Edward, being Edward, had shook his head, causing Carlisle to pause as Edward began to recite the vows from memory, that devastating crooked smile on his face as he spoke tenderly to her.

Nathaniel handed a ring to Edward, a small smile spreading onto his usually serious face and Edward began to slide it onto her finger while he spoke.

"I take you, Swan, to be my wife from this day forward, to join with you and share all that is come in this life. I pledge my love, devotion, faith, and honor and I promise to live in truth with you until death parts us."

Bella had teared up the second he called her Swan and hadn't been able to stop the tears from falling as her heart threatened to burst of joy. When she looked down, she recognized the ring from the store in Paris all that time ago.

As she looked at him, she realized he had had it all this time.

They hadn't planned on making their own vows, but Carlisle just gave her a grin as Nathaniel handed her the other ring. Bella wiped away a tear and took the ring, leaning down and placing a kiss on Nathaniel's cheek and whispering, "Thank you."

Edward was waiting with a smile as Bella began to speak, sliding the ring onto his finger.

"I take you, Edward, to be my husband and partner for life. I give you my hand and my heart as a sanctuary of warmth and peace from this day forward. I pledge faith and honor, and my love, and my devotion and promise to live in truth with you until death do us part."

~O~

The reception that followed was truly a celebration of the family Edward and Bella had built.

As the sun went down over the highlands, all of the dozens of candles surrounding the area had been lit and there was a mix of American and traditional Malawi music playing. The women and children from EHB were trying to teach members of Bella's family their dances, much to latter group's utter delight. Everyone was laughing and smiling and it was all of the happiness that they could ever want to be surrounded by.

Bella had slipped away when she finally got a moment to herself, walking to the perimeter of the celebration and taking it all in for just a second.

Nathaniel and Esme were on the dance floor and Esme was beaming as she taught him a two-step dance. Nathaniel was listening intently and following her instructions, occasionally stumbling here and there but usually looking up and giving Esme small smiles at whatever she was saying.

Paxton was on Emmett's shoulders, resting his hands on the top of Emmett's head as the burly man would suddenly drop low into a squat, sending Pax into a fit of giggles at the sudden rush. Rosalie was standing nearby, laughing but also ready to catch the little boy if something went awry. But it would be unnecessary. Bella trusted Emmett with her son's life.

Her son.

She had two beautiful sons.

And an extraordinary husband.

"Hiding from the festivities, Swan?"

Bella looked over as Edward approached her, a few buttons of the shirt undone and an easiness about him that might be at the heart of her happiness. Since Bella first found out about Edward, his wellbeing and his happiness had become inexplicably tied to her own – they were and always had been so entwined that she could not distinguish his from hers if she tried.

"Just for a moment," she replied with a teasing smile.

Edward leaned over to kiss her temple sweetly, handing her one of the two flutes of champaign in his hands. Bella hesitantly took it and they both looked out at the celebration in front of them.

"I do believe our boys will be spoiled by that family of yours," Edward commented neutrally, watching as Emmett playfully and carefully pretended to toss Paxton to Jasper while Alice patiently waited her turn to dance with Nathaniel.

"Perhaps," Bella agreed with a grin, still ecstatic at the reality that they had children.

"However, I don't believe I would want it any other way."

At gravity of his words, Bella looked at him with a soft smile.

Truly, he was extraordinary.

After everything that he had been through, the abuse he had received from crime bosses, regular bosses, and coworkers galore, he had not allowed it to define him or permanently harden his heart. He had found the grace to forgive it all and move forward.

She was so unimaginably proud of him.

"I want them to have the world," Edward murmured seriously. "And that includes having the family that I never did. They want to be there for them and I want them there for them."

Bella nodded, watching her family interact with her boys.

"Nathaniel asked me how long it would be until we went to America," she commented absentmindedly.

Edward nodded.

"I cancelled our flights to Liberia earlier this week," he told her. "Now that our priorities have shifted."

As he said "priorities," he got that crooked smile on his face. Bella grinned back. In response, Edward clinked her glass with his own and then raised the flute to his lips. He lowered it when Bella didn't follow the motion.

"What's wrong?" he asked as she fiddled with the glass.

"Well. Speaking of priorities…" she trailed off.

Edward's eyes widened.

"Swan, what are you-"

Bella let a smile spread across her face that was half nervous and half amused.

"I have this feeling…that I think, I just know, I'm pregnant."

Because of course she was.

But she was as sure of it as if God himself had told her.

A hesitant and amused smile began to spread over Edward's face. Fate had had it out for him for as long as he could remember. It seemed She was making up for all of the shit She had dealt him in the biggest way possible.

"You're pregnant?" he asked again, running his hand through his hair with that same crooked smile growing larger on his face.

Bella laughed. "I haven't gone to the doctor yet, but Edward, I can't really explain it but I just _know_ -"

Edward let out a chuckle of his own and then pulled her into his arms, silencing her with a kiss, filled with love, adoration and all of the wonderful things he felt about her.

Bella kissed him back, her heart singing at the happiness they had so fiercely and determinedly carved out for themselves, a happiness that made everything they had gone through along the way worth it.

"Swan, I think it's time we go home."

* * *

thank you, thank you, thank you. this has been so much fun and your support honestly means the world.

if the year is 2019 or 2020 and you're reading this - know that your support is as appreciated and if you enjoyed this tale, I would be thrilled to hear about.

with the close of one comes the start of another. the prologue for my new story "The Whisky Distiller's Wife," has just been posted and I love if you joined me in that journey.

all my best always,

carm.


End file.
